La Reforma (English: The Reform) or the Liberal Reform was initiated in Mexico following the ousting of centralist president Antonio López de Santa Anna by a group of liberals under the 1854 Plan de Ayutla. From the liberals' narrow objective to remove a dictator and take power, they expanded their aims to a comprehensive program to remake Mexico governed by liberal principles as embodied by a series of Reform laws and then the Constitution of 1857. The major goals of this movement were to undermine the power of the Catholic Church in Mexico, separate church and state, reduce the power of the Mexican military, and integrate Mexico's large indigenous population as citizens of Mexico and not a protected class. Liberals envisioned secular education as a means to create a Mexican citizenry. The liberals' strategy was to sharply limit the traditional institutional privileges (fueros) of the Catholic Church and the army. The law prohibiting the ownership of land by corporations targeted the holdings of the Catholic Church and indigenous communities - confiscating Church land. Indigenous community lands were held by the community as a whole, not as individual parcels. Liberals sought to create a class of yeoman farmers that held land individually. No class of individualistic peasants developed with the Liberal program emerged, but many merchants acquired land (and tenant farmers). Many existing landowners expanded their holdings at the expense of peasants, and some upwardly mobile ranch owners, often mestizos, acquired land previously held by communities.[1] Upon the promulgation of the liberal Constitution of 1857, conservatives refused to swear allegiance to it and, instead, formed a conservative government. The result was a civil war known as the Reform War or Three Years' War, waged between conservatives and liberals for three years, ending with the defeat of the conservatives on the battlefield. Victorious liberal president Benito Juárez could not implement the envisioned reforms due to a new political threat. Conservatives had sought another route to regaining power, resulting in their active collaboration with Napoleon III's plans to turn the Mexican Empire into the main American ally of the French empire. Mexican conservatives offered the crown of Mexico to Hapsburg archduke Maximilian. The French invasion and republican resistance to the French Intervention in Mexico lasted from 1862-67. With the defeat of the conservatives and the execution of Maximilian, Juárez again took up his duties as president. In this period from 1867 to 1876, often called the "Restored Republic" liberals had no credible opposition to their implementation of the laws of the Reform embodied in the 1857 Constitution.

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Benito Juárez, a Zapotec Indian who became president of Mexico during the Reform.

Alegoría de la Constitución de 1857 shows a dark complected Mexican woman clutching the liberal constitution of 1857. The 1869 painting by Petronilo Monroy was completed after the expulsion of the French in 1867.

The Liberal Reform is usually considered to have begun with the overthrow and exile of President Antonio López de Santa Anna in the Revolution of Ayutla in 1854-55. There is less consensus about the ending point of the Reform. Common dates are 1861, after the liberal victory in the War of the Reform, 1867, after the Republican victory of the French intervention in Mexico and 1876 after the Rebellion of Tuxtepec in which Porfirio Díaz overthrew president Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada. Many historians have called the period following the ouster of the French as the "Restored Republic," with Benito Juárez as president, and then, following his death in 1872 of natural causes, his successor, Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada. Although the Díaz regime was nominally liberal and it looked to the memory of heroes of the Liberal Reform for its legitimacy, the Porfiriato (1876-1911) is generally identified as a separate period of Mexican history.

1.
History of Mexico
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The history of Mexico, a country in the southern portion of North America, covers a period of more than three millennia. First populated more than 13,000 years ago, the territory had complex indigenous civilizations before being conquered and colonized by the Spanish in the 16th century and this era before the arrival of Europeans is called variously the prehispanic era or the precolumbian era. The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan became the Spanish capital Mexico City, from 1521, the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire incorporated the region into the Spanish Empire, with New Spain its colonial era name and Mexico City the center of colonial rule. It was built on the ruins of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, during the colonial era, Mexicos long-established Mesoamerican civilizations mixed with European culture. For three centuries Mexico was part of the Spanish Empire, whose legacy is a country with a Spanish-speaking, Catholic, after a protracted struggle for independence, New Spain became the sovereign nation of Mexico, with the signing of the Treaty of Córdoba. A brief period of monarchy, called the First Mexican Empire, was followed by the founding of the Republic of Mexico, legal racial categories were eliminated, abolishing the system of castas. Slavery was not abolished at independence in 1821 or with the constitution in 1824, Mexico continues to be constituted as a federated republic, under the Mexican Constitution of 1917. The Age of Santa Anna is the period of the late 1820s to the early 1850s that was dominated by criollo military-man-turned-president Antonio López de Santa Anna. In 1846, the Mexican–American War was provoked by the United States, even though Santa Anna bore significant responsibility for the disastrous defeat, he returned to office. The Liberal Reform began with the overthrow of Santa Anna by Mexican liberals, the Reform sparked a civil war between liberals defending the constitution and conservatives, who opposed it. The US was engaged in its own Civil War, so did not attempt to block the foreign intervention, abraham Lincoln consistently supported the Mexican liberals. At the end of the war in the US and the triumph of the Union forces. France withdrew its support of Maximilian in 1867 and his monarchist rule collapsed in 1867, with the end of the Second Mexican Empire, the period often called the Restored Republic brought back Benito Juárez as president. Following his death from an attack, Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada succeed him. He was overthrown by liberal military man Porfirio Diaz, who after consolidating power ushered in a period of stability, the half-century of economic stagnation and political chaos following independence ended. The Porfiriate is the era when army hero Porfirio Díaz held power as president of Mexico almost continuously from 1876-1911 and he promoted order and progress that saw the modernization of the economy and the flow of foreign investment to the country. The period is called the Porfiriato, which ended with the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution in 1910. Under Díaz, Mexicos industry and infrastructure were modernized by a strong, stable, increased tax revenues and better administration brought dramatic improvements in public safety, public health, railways, mining, industry, foreign trade, and national finances

2.
Coat of arms of Mexico
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The current coat of arms of Mexico has been an important symbol of Mexican politics and culture for centuries. The coat of arms depicts a Mexican golden eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus devouring a rattlesnake, to the people of Tenochtitlan this would have strong religious connotations, but to the Europeans, it would come to symbolize the triumph of good over evil. The Seal of the United Mexican States is the used by the government of Mexico in any official documents issued by the federal. Current and past Mexican peso coinage have had the engraved on the obverse of all denominations. The Mexican coat of arms is very important to the people of Mexico. The coat of arms recalls the founding of Mexico City, then called Tenochtitlan, the legend of Tenochtitlan as shown in the original Mexica codices, paintings, and post-Cortesian codices, does not include a snake. In the text by Chimalpahin Cuauhtlehuanitzin, the eagle is devouring something, still other versions show the eagle clutching the Aztec symbol of war, the Atl-Tlachinolli glyph, or burning water. Moreover, the meanings of the symbols were different in numerous aspects. The eagle was a representation of the sun god Huitzilopochtli, who was very important, the cactus, full of its fruits, called nochtli in Nahuatl, represent the island of Tenochtitlan. To the Mexicas, the snake represented wisdom, and it had strong connotations with the god Quetzalcoatl, the story of the snake was derived from an incorrect translation of the Crónica mexicáyotl by Fernando Alvarado Tezozómoc. In the story, the Nahuatl text ihuan cohuatl izomocayan, the snake hisses, was mistranslated as the snake is torn. Based on this, Father Diego Durán reinterpreted the legend so that the eagle represents all that is good and right, while the snake represents evil, despite its inaccuracy, the new legend was adopted because it conformed with European heraldic tradition. To the Europeans it would represent the struggle between good and evil, in 1960, the Mexican ornithologist Rafael Martín del Campo identified the eagle in the pre-Hispanic codex as the northern caracara or quebrantahuesos, a species common in Mexico. The golden eagle is considered the bird of Mexico. When Father Duran introduced the snake, it was originally an aquatic serpent, but in 1917, the serpent was portrayed as a rattlesnake, because it was more common than the aquatic varieties in pre-Hispanic illustrations. On another level, it one of the most important cosmological beliefs of the Aztec culture. The emblem shows an eagle devouring a serpent, which actually is in conflict with Mesoamerican belief, the eagle is a symbol of the sun and a representation of the victorious god Huitzilopochtli, in which form, according to legend, bowed to the arriving Aztecs. In some codices, the eagle holds the glyph for war to represent the victorious Huitzilopochtli and this glyph, the Atl tlachinolli, which means water and flame, has a certain resemblance with a snake, and may plausibly be the origin of this confusion. With the element, the element of the moon, it recalls the mythology of the god

3.
Pre-Columbian Mexico
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While relatively few documents of the Mixtec and Aztec cultures of the Post-Classic period survived the Spanish conquest, more progress has been made in the area of Mayan archaeology and epigraphy. It is currently unclear whether 21, 000-year-old campfire remains found in the Valley of Mexico are the earliest human remains in Mexico, indigenous peoples of Mexico began to selectively breed maize plants around 8000 BC. Evidence shows an increase in pottery working by 2300 B. C. Between 1800 and 300 BC, complex cultures began to form and these civilizations are credited with many inventions and advancements including pyramid-temples, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and theology. Archaic inscriptions on rocks and rock walls all over northern Mexico demonstrate a propensity for counting in Mexico. In fact, many of the later Mexican-based civilizations would carefully build their cities, astronomy and the notion of human observation of celestial events would become central factors in the development of religious systems, writing systems, fine arts, and architecture. Prehistoric Mexican astronomers began a tradition of observing, recording. At some different points in time, three Mexican cities were among the largest cities in the world and these cities and several others blossomed as centers of commerce, ideas, ceremonies, and theology. In turn, they radiated influence outward into neighboring cultures in central Mexico, cultural groups that flourished partially within the borders of modern-day Mexico include the Mogollon, Patayan, and Hohokam. These Oasisamerica civilizations maintained close ties with those of Mesoamerica, evidenced by turquoise trade, macaws, copper, cacao, and cultural exchange. For example, in Paquimé, a site connected to the Mogollon culture, there have been found ceremonial structures related to Mesoamerican religion and these civilizations extended their reach across Mexico, and beyond, like no others. They consolidated power and distributed influence in matters of trade, art, politics, technology, other regional power players made economic and political alliances with these five civilizations over the span of 3,000 years. But almost all found themselves within these five spheres of influence and their immediate cultural influence, however, extends far beyond this region. The Olmec flourished during the Formative period, dating from 1400 BCE to about 400 BCE, the decline of the Olmec resulted in a power vacuum in Mexico. Emerging from that vacuum was Teotihuacan, first settled in 300 B. C, by AD150, it had grown to become the first true metropolis of what is now called North America. Teotihuacan established a new economic and political order never before seen in Mexico and its influence stretched across Mexico into Central America, founding new dynasties in the Mayan cities of Tikal, Copan, and Kaminaljuyú. Teotihuacans influence over the Maya civilization cannot be overstated, it transformed political power, artistic depictions, within the city of Teotihuacan was a diverse and cosmopolitan population. Most of the ethnicities of Mexico were represented in the city

4.
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
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The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was one of the most significant events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Many of those on the Cortés expedition of 1519 had never seen combat before, in fact, Cortés had never commanded men in battle before. However, there was a generation of Spaniards who participated in expeditions in the Caribbean and Tierra Firme, learning strategy. The Spanish conquest of Mexico had antecedents with established practices, in their advance, the allies were tricked and ambushed several times by the people they encountered. When Cortés left Tenochtitlan to return to the coast and deal with the expedition of Pánfilo de Narváez, Alvarado allowed a significant Aztec feast to be celebrated in Tenochtitlan and on the pattern of the earlier massacre in Cholula, closed off the square and massacred the celebrating Aztec noblemen. The biography of Cortés by Francisco López de Gómara contains a description of the massacre, the Alvarado massacre at the Main Temple of Tenochtitlan precipitated rebellion by the population of the city. When the captured emperor Motecuhzoma II, now seen as a puppet of the invading Spaniards, attempted to calm the outraged populace. Cortés had returned to Tenochtitlan and his men fled the city during the Noche Triste in June,1520. The Spanish, Tlaxcalans and reinforcements returned a year later on August 13,1521 to a civilization that had wiped out by famine. This made it easier to conquer the remaining Aztecs, the fall of the Aztec Empire was the key event in the formation of the Spanish overseas empire, with New Spain, which later became Mexico, a major component. The Spanish conquerors could and did write accounts that narrated the conquest from the first landfalls in Mexico to the victory over the Mexica in Tenochtitlan on August 13,1521. Indigenous accounts are from particular native viewpoints and as the events had a impact on their polity. All accounts of the conquest, Spanish and indigenous alike, have biases, in general, Spanish accounts do not credit their indigenous allies support. Individual conquerors accounts exaggerate that individuals contribution to the conquest, downplaying other conquerors, indigenous allies accounts stress their loyalty to the Spanish and their particular aid as being key to the Spanish victory. Their accounts are similar to Spanish conquerors accounts contained in petitions for rewards and these were almost immediately published in Spain and later in other parts of Europe. Interestingly, Cortéss right-hand man, Pedro de Alvarado did not write at any length about his actions in the New World, two letters to Cortés about Alvarados campaigns in Guatemala are published in The Conquistadors. Rather than it being a petition for rewards for services, as many Spanish accounts were, the account was used by eighteenth-century Jesuit Francisco Javier Clavijero in his descriptions of the history of Mexico. On the indigenous side, the allies of Cortés, particularly the Tlaxcalans, wrote extensively about their services to the Spanish Crown in the conquest, the most important of these are the pictorial Lienzo de Tlaxcala and the Historia de Tlaxcala by Diego Muñoz Camargo

5.
New Spain
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New Spain was a colonial territory of the Spanish Empire, in the New World north of the Isthmus of Panama. It was established following the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1521, after 1535 the colony was governed by the Viceroy of New Spain, an appointed minister of the King of Spain, who ruled as monarch over the colony. The capital of New Spain was Mexico City and it developed highly regional divisions, which reflect the impact of climate, topography, the presence or absence of dense indigenous populations, and the presence or absence of mineral resources. The areas of central and southern Mexico had dense indigenous populations with complex social, political, silver mining not only became the engine of the economy of New Spain, but vastly enriched Spain, and transformed the global economy. New Spain was the New World terminus of the Philippine trade, although New Spain was a dependency of Spain, it was a kingdom not a colony, subject to the presiding monarch on the Iberian Peninsula. Every privilege and position, economic political, or religious came from him and it was on this basis that the conquest, occupation, and government of the New World was achieved. The Viceroyalty of New Spain was established in 1535 in the Kingdom of New Spain and it was the first New World viceroyalty and one of only two in the Spanish empire until the 18th century Bourbon Reforms. The Spanish Empire comprised the territories in the north overseas Septentrion, from North America, to the west of the continent, New Spain also included the Spanish East Indies. To the east of the continent, it included the Spanish West Indies and this was not occupied by many Spanish settlers and were considered more marginal to Spanish interests than the most densely populated and lucrative areas of central Mexico. To shore up its claims in North America starting in the late 18th century, Spanish expeditions to the Pacific Northwest explored and claimed the coast of what is now British Columbia and Alaska. The indigenous societies of Mesoamerica brought under Spanish control were of unprecedented complexity, the societies could provide the conquistadors, especially Hernán Cortés, a base from which the conquerors could become autonomous, or even independent, of the Crown. As a result, the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, since the time of the Catholic Monarchs, central Iberia was governed through councils appointed by the monarch with particular jurisdictions. Thus, the creation of the Council of the Indies became another, the crown had set up the Casa de Contratación in 1503 to regulate contacts between Spain and its overseas possessions. A key function was to gather information about navigation to make trips less risky and they were accompanied by maps of the area discussed, many of which were drawn by indigenous artists. The Francisco Hernández Expedition, the first scientific expedition to the New World, was sent to gather information medicinal plants, an earlier Audiencia had been established in Santo Domingo in 1526 to deal with the Caribbean settlements. That Audiencia, housed in the Casa Reales in Santo Domingo, was charged with encouraging further exploration, management by the Audiencia, which was expected to make executive decisions as a body, proved unwieldy. Therefore, in 1535, King Charles V named Don Antonio de Mendoza as the first Viceroy of New Spain. After the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in 1532 opened up the vast territories of South America to further conquests, the Crown established an independent Viceroyalty of Peru there in 1540

6.
Mexican War of Independence
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The Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict, and the culmination of a political and social process which ended the rule of Spain in 1821 in the territory of New Spain. September 16 is celebrated as Mexican Independence Day, the movement for independence was inspired by the Age of Enlightenment and the liberal revolutions of the last part of the 18th century. By that time the elite of New Spain had begun to reflect on the relations between Spain and its colonial kingdoms. Changes in the social and political structure occasioned by Bourbon Reforms, political events in Europe had a decisive effect on events in most of Spanish America. In 1808, King Charles IV and Ferdinand VII abdicated in favor of French leader Napoleon Bonaparte, the same year, the ayuntamiento of Mexico City, supported by viceroy José de Iturrigaray, claimed sovereignty in the absence of the legitimate king. That led to a coup against the viceroy, when it was suppressed, despite the defeat in Mexico City, small groups of conspirators met in other cities of New Spain to raise movements against colonial rule. From 1810 the independence movement went through stages, as leaders were imprisoned or executed by forces loyal to Spain. Secular priest José María Morelos called the separatist provinces to form the Congress of Chilpancingo, after the defeat of Morelos, the movement survived as a guerrilla war under the leadership of Vicente Guerrero. By 1820, the few rebel groups survived most notably in the Sierra Madre del Sur, the reinstatement of the liberal Constitution of Cadiz in 1820 caused a change of mind among the elite groups who had supported Spanish rule. Monarchist Creoles affected by the constitution decided to support the independence of New Spain, agustín de Iturbide led the military arm of the conspirators and in early 1821 he met Vicente Guerrero. Both proclaimed the Plan of Iguala, which called for the union of all insurgent factions and was supported by both the aristocracy and clergy of New Spain and it called for monarchy in an independent Mexico. Finally, the independence of Mexico was achieved on September 27,1821, after that, the mainland of New Spain was organized as the Mexican Empire. This ephemeral Catholic monarchy changed to a republic in 1823, due to internal conflicts. After some Spanish reconquest attempts, including the expedition of Isidro Barradas in 1829, after the suppression of that mid-16th-century conspiracy, elites raised no substantial challenge to royal rule until the Hidalgo revolt of 1810. Elites in Mexico City in the century did force the removal of a reformist viceroy. The crowd was reported to shout, Long live the King, the attack was against Gelves as a bad representative of the crown and not against the monarchy or colonial rule itself. There was also a conspiracy in the mid-seventeenth century to unite creole elites, blacks. The man pushing this notion called himself Don Guillén Lampart y Guzmán, lamports conspiracy was discovered, and he was arrested by the Inquisition in 1642, and executed fifteen years later for sedition

7.
First Mexican Empire
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The Mexican Empire was a short-lived monarchy and the first independent post-colonial state in Mexico. It was the former colony of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after independence and for a short time, together with the Empire of Brazil. The First Mexican Empire was short-lived, lasting less than two years, the first and only monarch of the state was Agustín de Iturbide, reigning as Agustín I of Mexico, for less than eight months. The empire was briefly reestablished by the French in 1864, under the 24 February 1821 Plan of Iguala, to which most of the provinces subscribed, the Mexican Congress established a regency council which was headed by Iturbide. If the king refused the position, the law provided for another member of the House of Bourbon to accede to the Mexican throne, however, the goal was merely a political tactic to appease the last royalists, and a full independence was expected. King Ferdinand, however, refused to recognize Mexicos independence and said that Spain would not allow any other European prince to take the throne of Mexico, on 19 May 1822, Mexican Congress named Iturbide as a constitutional emperor. On 21 May it issued a decree confirming this appointment, which was officially a temporary measure until a European monarch could be found to rule Mexico, iturbides official title was, By Divine Providence and the National Congress, First Constitutional Emperor of Mexico. His coronation took place on 21 July 1822 in Mexico City, in August 1822 a plot to overthrow the monarchy was discovered and on August 25, plotters, including 16 members of Congress, were arrested. As factions in the Congress began to sharply criticise Iturbide and his policies, santa Anna and his troops revolted against Iturbide, calling for the restoration of the Congress on 1 December 1822. Santa Anna had secretly persuaded General Echávarri, the commander of the Imperial forces, to switch sides and support the revolution when it was ready to be proclaimed throughout Mexico. The independence heroes Vicente Guerrero, Nicolás Bravo and Guadalupe Victoria soon joined, signing the Plan of Casa Mata on February 1,1823, the insurrectionists sent their proposal to the provincial governments and requested their adherence to the plan. In the course of just six weeks, the Plan of Casa Mata traveled to remote places as Texas. Each provincial government that accepted the plan thereby withdrew its allegiance from the Imperial government and this left Emperor Agustín I isolated with little support outside of Mexico City and a few factions of the Imperial Army. Consequently, he reinstalled the Congress, which he had abolished, abdicated the throne. Santa Anna and the proponents of the Plan of Casa Mata went on to oversee the drafting of a new constitution. The territory of the Mexican Empire corresponded to the borders of Viceroyalty of New Spain, excluding the Captaincies General of Cuba, Santo Domingo, subsequent territorial evolution of Mexico over the next several decades would eventually reduce Mexico to less than half its maximum extent. The first Mexican empire was divided into the following intendances, History of Mexico Second Mexican Empire Federal Republic of Central America Imperial House of Mexico Mexican Empire

8.
First Mexican Republic
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For the current entity named United Mexican States, see Mexico. The First Federal Republic was a period in Mexican history corresponding to the first time in both, republic and federation were established as form of government in the Mexican nation. The republic was proclaimed on November 1,1823 by Constituent Congress, the federation was formally and legally established on October 4,1824 when the Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States came into force. That caused a severe political instability and violence, the republic was ruled by two triumvirates and nine presidents. Guadalupe Victoria, was the president who completed his full term in this period. On October 23,1835, after the repeal of the Constitution of 1824, the unitary regime was formally established on December 30,1836, with the enactment of the seven constitutional laws. In December 1822, Generals Antonio López de Santa Anna and Guadalupe Victoria wrote and this was an agreement between these two generals, amongst other Mexican generals, governors, and high-ranking governmental officials, to abolish the monarchy and replace it with a republic. Several insurrections arose in the Mexican provinces beginning in December, but they were all put down by the Imperial Army and this was because Santa Anna had previously made a secret agreement with General Echávarri, the commander of the Imperial forces. By this agreement, the Plan of Casa Mata was to be proclaimed throughout Mexico on February 1,1823 and this plan did not recognize the First Mexican Empire and called for the convening of a new Constituent Congress. The insurrectionists sent their proposal to the delegations and requested their adherence to the plan. In the course of just six weeks, the Plan of Casa Mata travelled to remote places as Texas. On September 27,1821, after three centuries of Spanish rule and an 11-year war of independence, Mexico obtained its sovereignty, the Treaty of Córdoba recognized New Spain as an independent empire, which took the name of the Mexican Empire. A minority of the Constituent Congress in search of stability chose as monarch the general Agustín de Iturbide who had led the war effort against Spain and he was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico on May 18,1822. Soon after, problems arose between the emperor and the Constituent Congress, Antonio López de Santa Anna proclaimed the Plan of Casa Mata, which was later joined by Vicente Guerrero and Nicolás Bravo. Iturbide was then forced to reinstate the Congress, and in a attempt to save the order and keep the situation favorable to his supporters. However, the restored Congress declared the appointment of Iturbide void ab initio, on 8 April, the Congress declared the Plan of Iguala and the Treaty of Córdoba void as well. With that the Empire was dissolved and the country declared its freedom to establish itself as it saw fit, several states openly rebelled against these changes. Northern Coahuila y Tejas, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Durango, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Yucatán, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas all disapproved

9.
Centralist Republic of Mexico
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The Centralist Republic of Mexico, officially the Mexican Republic was a unitary political regime established in Mexico on October 23,1835, after the repeal of the Constitution of 1824. Like Spanish moderados, the Mexican conservatives were inspired by the ideal of a centralized, the unitary regime was formally established on December 30,1836, with the enactment of the seven constitutional laws. The centralist Republic lasted for almost eleven years, on August 22,1846, acting President José Mariano Salas, issued the decree that restored the Constitution of 1824 and with this, the return to federalism. The Mexican Republic was governed by eleven presidents, none were to finish their term before the Republics dissolution. In 1835, the party established a Congress which was declared constitutional. On December 30,1836, the seven laws, which established the system of governmental. The constitutional laws of the Mexican Republic, better known as the seven laws were a series of laws of a nature which replaced the Constitution of 1824. The 15 articles of the first law granted citizenship to those who could read and had an income of 100 pesos, except for domestic workers. The second law allowed the President to close Congress and suppress the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, military officers were not allowed to assume this office. The 58 articles of the law established a bicameral Congress of Deputies and Senators. Deputies had four-year terms, Senators were elected for six years, the seventh law prohibited reverting to the pre-reform laws for six years. The seven laws were enacted by the interim President of Mexico, José Justo Corro, the revolt in Zacatecas was the first rebellion caused by attempts to centralize the Affairs of States. The rebellion began as a response to the order of the Government disintegrating bodies of militia, the rebellion was led by Governor Francisco García Salinas, who led an army of about four thousand men against the even federal Government. Antonio López de Santa Anna, President at the time, personally fought the revolt, the Governor García Salinas, was defeated in the battle of Zacatecas. As punishment to the rebelliousness of Zacatecas, Aguascalientes party was separated and declared on 23 May 1835 Federation territory, the Texan Revolution began in the battle of Gonzales on October 2,1835. The discontent of the American settlers began almost as soon as they settled in the State of Coahuila, as a result of the rebellion of 1827 Fredonia was decreed on April 6,1830 laws that increased the discontent of the colonists. In 1831, the Mexican authorities gave Gonzalez settlers a small cannon to protect themselves from frequent Comanche raids. Due to the order of the Government disintegrating bodies of militia, Colonel Domingo Ugartechea, Commander of Mexican troops in Texas, on 1 October, settlers voted to start a fight and refused to return the barrel

10.
Texas Revolution
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The Texas Revolution began when colonists in the Mexican province of Texas rebelled against the increasingly centralized Mexican government. After a decade of political and cultural clashes between the Mexican government and the large population of American settlers in Texas, hostilities erupted in October 1835. Texians disagreed on whether the goal was independence or a return to the Mexican Constitution of 1824. While delegates at the Consultation debated the wars motives, Texians, the Consultation declined to declare independence and installed an interim government, whose infighting led to political paralysis and a dearth of effective governance in Texas. An ill-conceived proposal to invade Matamoros siphoned much-needed volunteers and provisions from the fledgling Texas army, in March 1836, a second political convention declared independence and appointed leadership for the new Republic of Texas. Determined to avenge Mexicos honor, President Antonio López de Santa Anna vowed to personally retake Texas and his Army of Operations entered Texas in mid-February 1836 and found the Texians completely unprepared. Mexican General José de Urrea led a contingent of troops on the Goliad Campaign up the Texas coast, defeating all Texian troops in his path and executing most of those who surrendered. Santa Anna led a force to San Antonio de Béxar. On March 31, Houston paused his men at Groces Landing on the Brazos River, becoming complacent and underestimating the strength of his foes, Santa Anna further subdivided his troops. On April 21, Houstons army staged an assault on Santa Anna. The Mexican troops were routed, and vengeful Texians executed many who tried to surrender. Santa Anna was taken hostage, in exchange for his life, Mexico refused to recognize the Republic of Texas, and intermittent conflicts between the two countries continued into the 1840s. The annexation of Texas as the 28th state of the United States, in 1845, after a failed attempt by France to colonize Texas in the late 17th century, Spain developed a plan to settle the region. On its southern edge, along the Medina and Nueces Rivers, on the east, Texas bordered Louisiana. Following the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the United States also claimed the land west of the Sabine River, following the Mexican War of Independence, Texas became part of Mexico. Under the Constitution of 1824, which defined the country as a federal republic, Texas was granted only a single seat in the state legislature, which met in Saltillo, hundreds of miles away. Texas was very sparsely populated, with fewer than 3,500 residents, and only about 200 soldiers, in the hopes that an influx of settlers could control the Indian raids, the bankrupt Mexican government liberalized immigration policies for the region. Finally able to settle legally in Texas, Anglos from the United States soon vastly outnumbered the Tejanos, most of the immigrants came from the southern United States

11.
Pastry War
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It ended several months later in March 1839 with a British-brokered peace. The intervention followed many claims by French nationals of losses due to unrest in Mexico, during the early years of the new Mexican republic there was widespread civil disorder as factions competed for control of the country. The fighting often resulted in the destruction or looting of private property, average citizens had few options for claiming compensation as they had no representatives to speak on their behalf. However, France had yet to secure trade agreements similar to those that the United States and England had, in complaint to King Louis-Philippe, a French pastry chef known only as Monsieur Remontel, claimed that in 1832 Mexican officers looted his shop in Tacubaya. Remontel demanded 60,000 pesos as reparations for the damage, French forces captured Veracruz by December 1838 and Mexico declared war on France. With trade cut off, the Mexicans began smuggling imports via Corpus Christi, Republic of Texas, fearing that France would blockade the Republics ports as well, a battalion of Texan forces began patrolling Corpus Christi Bay to stop Mexican smugglers. One smuggling party abandoned their cargo of about a hundred barrels of flour on the beach at the mouth of the bay and he offered his services to the government, which ordered him to fight the French by any means necessary. He led Mexican forces against the French, in a skirmish with the rear guard of the French, Santa Anna was wounded in the leg by French grapeshot. His leg was amputated and buried with military honors. Exploiting his wounds with eloquent propaganda, Santa Anna catapulted back to power, the French forces withdrew on 9 March 1839 after a peace treaty was signed. As part of said treaty the Mexican government agreed to pay 600,000 pesos as damages to French citizens while France received promises for future trade commitments in place of war indemnities. However, this amount was never paid and that was used as one of the justifications for the second French intervention in Mexico of 1861. Media related to Pastry War at Wikimedia Commons

12.
Second Federal Republic of Mexico
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For the current entity named United Mexican States, see Mexico. The Second Federal Republic of Mexico is the given to the second attempt to achieve a federalist government in Mexico. Officially called the United Mexican States, a republic was implemented again on August 22,1846 when interim president José Mariano Salas issued a decree restoring the 1824 constitution. Other events during this period were the dictatorship of Santa Anna, the sale of the Mesilla Valley, during this period, there were two international conflicts, the conclusion of the war between Mexico and the United States and the war with France. The Federal Republic lasted almost 17 years and was ruled by 14 presidents, the Republic was dissolved on July 10,1863 with the decree of a change of government to a model of hereditary monarchy, this began the Second Mexican Empire, ruled by Maximilian I. In the midst of war with the United States, Mariano Paredes y Arrillaga staged a coup against the government of interim President José Joaquín de Herrera, shortly afterwards, the Congress appointed him as interim president, the vice presidency went to Nicolás Bravo. On July 28,1846 Mariano Paredes left the presidency to command the army in battle against the Americans, on August 4 the federalists led an uprising, causing the resignation of President Bravo. Mariano Salas took office as president on August 6, on August 22, he reestablished the 1824 Constitution. With the constitution again in force, centralism ended and the system was restored. The war between Mexico and the United States officially began on May 13,1846, but there had already been battles before that date, Mexico, in turn, declared war on the United States on May 23. The main US force continued through to the Rio Grande and into Mexico, on December 24, the Congress declared Antonio López de Santa Anna acting president and Valentín Gómez Farías vice president. Gómez Farías assumed the presidency in place of Santa Anna, who was fighting the US, after the battles of Angostura, Padierna, Churubusco and Molino del Rey, the Castle of Chapultepec was defended by young cadets who became known as Niños Héroes. During the assault, the generals were taken prisoner. The fall of Chapultepec had two consequences, the US occupation of Mexico City and the resignation of Santa Anna from the presidency on September 16,1847. Following the resignation of Santa Anna, Manuel de la Peña y Peña assumed the office, on September 26 he established the seat of federal power in Toluca and in Querétaro, where Congress convened. On November 11, De la Peña left office to serve as chancellor and negotiate peace with the United States Congress, Anaya, refusing to satisfy the land claims of the United States, resigned on January 8,1848. Manuel de la Pena y Pena was again named provisional president, on February 2 the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, in which Mexico ceded 2,400,000 square kilometres of territory. De la Peña was able to save for Mexico the Baja Peninsula and its union by land with Sonora, Manuel de la Pena y Pena called for elections, Congress chose José Joaquin de Herrera, who took over as president June 3,1848

13.
Reform War
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The War of the Reform is one of many episodes of the long struggle between Liberal and Conservative forces that dominated the country’s history in the 19th century. The Liberals wanted to eliminate the political, economic, and cultural power of the Catholic church as well as undermine the role of the Mexican Army, both the Catholic Church and the Army were protected by corporate or institutional privileges established in the colonial era. Liberals sought to create a modern nation-state founded on liberal principles, the liberals passed a series of separate laws implementing their vision of Mexico, and then promulgated the Constitution of 1857, which gave constitutional force to their program. The Liberals lack military experience and lost most of the early battles, Liberal victories accumulated thereafter until Conservative forces surrendered in December 1860. After the end of the Mexican War of Independence, the country was divided as it tried to recover from more than a decade of fighting. From 1821-57,50 different governments ruled the country and these included dictatorships, constitutional republican governments and a monarchy. The political division was divided into two groups, the Liberals and the Conservatives. The Liberal political movements had their beginnings in the meetings of the Freemasonry. The secret nature of the society allowed for discreet political discussion, Conservatives favored a strong centralized government, with many wanting a European-style monarchy. Conservatives favored protecting many of the institutions inherited from the period, including tax and legal exemptions for the Catholic Church. Liberals favored the establishment of a federalist republic based on ideas coming out of the European Enlightenment, until the end of the Reform period Mexico’s history would be dominated by these two factions vying for control and fighting against foreign incursions at the same time. The Reform Era of Mexican history is defined from 1855-76. In the 1850s the Liberal ousted Antonio López de Santa Anna under the Plan of Ayutla in 1855 and this ascendancy came after the loss of about half of Mexico’s national territory to the US in the Mexican–American War. Liberals believed that the power of the Roman Catholic Church. The Liberals challenge to the Catholic Churchs hegemony in Mexico came about in stages even before the 1850s and this included Catholic newspapers such as La Cruz and conservative groups that strongly attacked Liberal policies and ideology. This ideology had roots in the European Enlightenment, which sought to reduce the role of the Catholic Church in society. The Reforms began in the 1830s and 1840s coalesced into the laws of the Reform era. The 1857 Constitution of Mexico was promulgated near the end of the first phase, more Reform laws were passed from 1861–63 and after 1867 when the Liberals emerged victorious after two civil wars with Conservative opponents

14.
French intervention in Mexico
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It followed President Benito Juárezs suspension of interest payments to foreign countries on 17 July 1861, which angered these three major creditors of Mexico. Emperor Napoleon III of France was the instigator, justifying military intervention by claiming a broad foreign policy of commitment to free trade, for him, a friendly government in Mexico would ensure European access to Latin American markets. Napoleon also wanted the silver that could be mined in Mexico to finance his empire, Napoleon built a coalition with Spain and Britain while the U. S. was deeply engaged in its civil war. The three European powers signed the Treaty of London on 31 October 1861, to unite their efforts to receive payments from Mexico, on 8 December the Spanish fleet and troops arrived at Mexicos main port, Veracruz. When the British and Spanish discovered that France planned to all of Mexico. The subsequent French invasion resulted in the Second Mexican Empire, after heavy guerrilla resistance led by Juárez, which continued even after the capital had fallen in 1863, the French eventually withdrew from Mexico and Maximilian I was executed in 1867. The British, Spanish and French fleets arrived at Veracruz, between 8 and 17 December 1861 intending to pressure the Mexicans into settling their debts, the Spanish fleet seized San Juan de Ulúa and subsequently the capital Veracruz on 17 December. The European forces advanced to Orizaba, Cordoba and Tehuacán, as they had agreed in the Convention of Soledad, the city of Campeche surrendered to the French fleet on 27 February 1862, and a French army, commanded by General Lorencez, arrived on 5 March. When the Spanish and British realised the French ambition was to conquer Mexico, they withdrew their forces on 9 April, in May, the French man-of-war Bayonnaise blockaded Mazatlán for a few days. Mexican forces commanded by General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated the French army in the Battle of Puebla on 5 May 1862, the pursuing Mexican army was contained by the French at Orizaba, Veracruz, on 14 June. More French troops arrived on 21 September, and General Bazaine arrived with French reinforcements on 16 October, the French occupied the port of Tampico on 23 October, and unopposed by Mexican forces took control of Xalapa, Veracruz on 12 December. The French bombarded Veracruz on 15 January 1863, two months later, on 16 March, General Forey and the French Army began the siege of Puebla. They were forced to make a defence in a nearby hacienda, danjou was mortally wounded at the hacienda, and his men mounted an almost suicidal bayonet attack, fighting to nearly the last man, only three French Legionnaires survived. To this day, the anniversary of 30 April remains the most important day of celebration for Legionnaires. The French army of General François Achille Bazaine defeated the Mexican army led by General Comonfort in its campaign to relieve the siege of Puebla, at San Lorenzo, Puebla surrendered to the French shortly afterward, on 17 May. On 31 May, President Juárez fled the city with his cabinet, retreating northward to Paso del Norte, having taken the treasure of the state with them, the government-in-exile remained in Chihuahua until 1867. French troops under Bazaine entered Mexico City on 7 June 1863, the main army entered the city three days later led by General Forey. General Almonte was appointed the provisional President of Mexico on 16 June, the Superior Junta with its 35 members met on 21 June, and proclaimed a Catholic Empire on 10 July

15.
Second Mexican Empire
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It was created with the support of Napoleon III of France, who attempted to establish a monarchist ally in the Americas. A referendum confirmed the coronation of the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, the Empire came to an end on June 19,1867, with the execution of Emperor Maximilian I. The rule of Emperor Maximilian was blemished by constant conflict, the two factions had set up parallel governments, the Conservatives in Mexico City controlling central Mexico and the Liberals in Veracruz. The United States government viewed Emperor Maximilian as a French puppet and they demanded the withdrawal of French forces, and France acceded. In 1867, the fell and Maximilian was executed at the orders of Benito Juárez. Maximilian proved to be too liberal for the conservatives, and too conservative for the liberals and he regarded Mexico as his destiny and made many contributions. Before his death, Maximilian adopted the grandsons of the first Mexican emperor, Agustín de Iturbide, Agustín de Iturbide y Green, Napoleon III had more ambitious goals in mind than merely the recovery of Frances debts. Heavily influenced by his wife the Empress Eugenie, he was bent on reviving the Mexican monarchy. Prior to 1861 any interference in the affairs of Mexico by any of the European powers would have viewed as a challenge to the United States. However, in 1861 the United States was embroiled in its own bloody conflict, the American Civil War, encouraged by the Empress Eugenie, who saw herself as the champion of the Catholic Church in Mexico, Napoleon III took advantage of the situation. Napoleon III saw the opportunity to make France the great modernizing influence in the Western Hemisphere as well as enabling the country to capture the South American markets. To give him encouragement, there was his half brother, the duc de Morny. 1832, Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian born on 6 July, the son of Archduke Franz Karl and his wife Sophie in Schönbrunn Palace. 1851, Begins career in the Imperial and Royal Navy with the rank of lieutenant,1856, The construction of his castle of Miramar near the Adriatic port of Trieste began. 1857, Ferdinand Max appointed the governor-general of the northern Italian provinces of Lombardy-Venetia, on 27 July marries the Princess Charlotte of Belgium in Brussels. 1859, On 19 April relieved of his post as governor-general, War breaks out with France and Piedmont-Sardinia. 1861, Napoleon III suggests Maximilian as a candidate for the throne of Mexico,1863, In October a Mexican delegation arrives at Miramar to offer Maximilian and Charlotte the crown. Maximilian makes his acceptance conditional on a plebiscite in his favor

16.
Porfiriato
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The history of Mexico, a country in the southern portion of North America, covers a period of more than three millennia. First populated more than 13,000 years ago, the territory had complex indigenous civilizations before being conquered and colonized by the Spanish in the 16th century and this era before the arrival of Europeans is called variously the prehispanic era or the precolumbian era. The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan became the Spanish capital Mexico City, from 1521, the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire incorporated the region into the Spanish Empire, with New Spain its colonial era name and Mexico City the center of colonial rule. It was built on the ruins of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, during the colonial era, Mexicos long-established Mesoamerican civilizations mixed with European culture. For three centuries Mexico was part of the Spanish Empire, whose legacy is a country with a Spanish-speaking, Catholic, after a protracted struggle for independence, New Spain became the sovereign nation of Mexico, with the signing of the Treaty of Córdoba. A brief period of monarchy, called the First Mexican Empire, was followed by the founding of the Republic of Mexico, legal racial categories were eliminated, abolishing the system of castas. Slavery was not abolished at independence in 1821 or with the constitution in 1824, Mexico continues to be constituted as a federated republic, under the Mexican Constitution of 1917. The Age of Santa Anna is the period of the late 1820s to the early 1850s that was dominated by criollo military-man-turned-president Antonio López de Santa Anna. In 1846, the Mexican–American War was provoked by the United States, even though Santa Anna bore significant responsibility for the disastrous defeat, he returned to office. The Liberal Reform began with the overthrow of Santa Anna by Mexican liberals, the Reform sparked a civil war between liberals defending the constitution and conservatives, who opposed it. The US was engaged in its own Civil War, so did not attempt to block the foreign intervention, abraham Lincoln consistently supported the Mexican liberals. At the end of the war in the US and the triumph of the Union forces. France withdrew its support of Maximilian in 1867 and his monarchist rule collapsed in 1867, with the end of the Second Mexican Empire, the period often called the Restored Republic brought back Benito Juárez as president. Following his death from an attack, Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada succeed him. He was overthrown by liberal military man Porfirio Diaz, who after consolidating power ushered in a period of stability, the half-century of economic stagnation and political chaos following independence ended. The Porfiriate is the era when army hero Porfirio Díaz held power as president of Mexico almost continuously from 1876-1911 and he promoted order and progress that saw the modernization of the economy and the flow of foreign investment to the country. The period is called the Porfiriato, which ended with the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution in 1910. Under Díaz, Mexicos industry and infrastructure were modernized by a strong, stable, increased tax revenues and better administration brought dramatic improvements in public safety, public health, railways, mining, industry, foreign trade, and national finances

17.
Mexican Revolution
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The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle c. 1910–1920 that radically transformed Mexican culture and government. Although recent research has focused on local and regional aspects of the Revolution and its outbreak in 1910 resulted from the failure of the 35-year long regime of Porfirio Díaz to find a managed solution to the presidential succession. This meant there was a crisis among competing elites and the opportunity for agrarian insurrection. Madero challenged Díaz in 1910 presidential election, and following the rigged results, armed conflict ousted Díaz from power and a new election was held in 1911, bringing Madero to the presidency. The origins of the conflict were broadly based in opposition to the Díaz regime, with the 1910 election, elements of the Mexican elite hostile to Díaz, led by Madero, expanded to the middle class, the peasantry in some regions, and organized labor. In October 1911, Madero was overwhelmingly elected in a free, Huerta remained in power from February 1913 until July 1914, when he was forced out by a coalition of different regional revolutionary forces. Then the revolutionaries attempt to come to a political agreement following Huertas ouster failed, Zapata was assassinated in 1919, by agents of President Carranza. The armed conflict lasted for the part of a decade, until around 1920. Revolutionary forces unified against Huertas reactionary regime defeated the Federal forces, although the conflict was primarily a civil war, foreign powers that had important economic and strategic interests in Mexico figured in the outcome of Mexicos power struggles. The United States played a significant role. Out of Mexicos population of 15 million, the losses were high, perhaps 1.5 million people died, nearly 200,000 refugees fled abroad, especially to the United States. Politically, the promulgation of the Mexican Constitution of 1917 is seen by scholars as the end point of the armed conflict. The period 1920–1940 is often considered to be a phase of the Revolution, during which power was consolidated, after the presidency of his ally, General Manuel González, Díaz ran for the presidency again and legally remained in office until 1911. The constitution had been amended to allow presidential re-election, Díazs re-election was ironic, since he had challenged Benito Juárez on the platform no re-election. During the Porfiriato there were regular elections although there were contentious irregularities, the contested 1910 election, was a key political event that led to the Mexican Revolution. As Díaz aged, the question of succession became increasingly important. In 1906, the office of president was revived, with Díaz choosing his close ally Ramón Corral from among his Cientifico advisers to serve in the post. By the 1910 election, the Díaz regime had become highly authoritarian and he had been a national hero, opposing the French Intervention in the 1860s and distinguishing himself in the Battle of Puebla on 5 May 1862

18.
Ten Tragic Days
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The Ten Tragic Days was a series of events that took place in Mexico City between February 9 and February 19,1913, during the Mexican Revolution. This led up to a coup détat and the assassination of President Francisco I, Madero, and his Vice President, José María Pino Suárez. S. And as such, these events have been among the most influential of the Revolutions history. Maderos martyrs death shocked a critical portion of the population, in many ways, then, it set the tone for the Revolutions most violent period, but it also prepared the way for an agenda of profound political and social change. While the bulk of fighting occurred between opposing factions of the regular Federal army, the nature of artillery and rifle fire inflicted substantial losses amongst uninvolved civilians. Following uprisings in Mexico in the wake of the fraudulent presidential election of 1910, Porfirio Díaz resigned, a brief interim government under Francisco León de la Barra allowed for elections in October 1911, and Francisco I. Madero was elected President of Mexico, Madero, a member of one of Mexicos richest families, had never held elected office before. Within a few months, Madero began to support and came under criticism. Though Madero came from a background, the conservatives never forgave him for driving Porfirio Díaz out of office. Madero’s supporters became disillusioned when he refused to implement their plans, Madero, at the end of his first year in the presidency, faced serious difficulties. During the first year of Madero’s term, four revolts occurred, the Zapata revolt in Morelos, which began in November 1911, was contained by Gen. Felipe Ángeles, but was not suppressed. The Pascual Orozco revolt in Chihuahua, begun in March 1912, and was handled by Gen. Victoriano Huerta, but Orozco and his Colorados remained at large. The revolts of Gen. Bernardo Reyes in Nuevo León, in December 1912 and Gen. Félix Díaz in Veracruz, in November 1912, were crushed, rumors of a pending overthrow of Madero were passed around openly in the capital, with only moderate enthusiasm. He had been entrusted with many purchases of arms, and had a scheme of putting his name on “inventions”, gathering the support of his officers and staff, he persuaded the cadets of the Escuela Militar de Aspirantes Military School located at Tlalpan to join him. They were joined by infantry and cavalry units of the regular army, on the night of February 8,1913, the cadets entered the city in trolley cars. In the early morning, they gathered before the civilian penitentiary, after a brief parley, Díaz was freed. The cadets and soldiers under the leadership of their officers, proceeded to the Santiago Tlatelolco military prison, when released, Gen. Reyes mounted a horse and led part of the cadets and a column of soldiers to the National Palace, arriving there at 7,30 am. Reyes appears to have had confidence that he would be welcomed

19.
Plan of Guadalupe
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The Plan of Guadalupe was a political manifesto which was proclaimed on March 26,1913 by Venustiano Carranza in response to the overthrow and execution of President Francisco I. Madero, which had occurred during the Ten Tragic Days of February 1913, the manifesto was released from the Hacienda De Guadalupe, which is where the Plan derives its name, nearly a month after the assassination of Madero. The plan was limited, it denounced Victoriano Huerta from the presidency, Carranza was a dedicated supporter of Madero. Although there had been scattered rebellions against Huerta, there was no unified plan for the revolutionaries, Carranza was one of the most prominent and well-known opposers of Huerta, he was the then-sitting governor of the state of Coahuila. His plan initially united anti-Huerta forces in his state. The plan became the program of the northern revolutionaries. It was subscribed to by leading figures of the Mexican Revolution such as Pancho Villa, Álvaro Obregón, one scholar has called the plan oft-mentioned and highly overrated, but the plan did attract widespread support, despite its solely political demands. The Plan was divided into seven statements which aimed to remove the legitimacy of Huertas government, the statements reject Huerta as president and the government which runs under him, including the legislative and judicial branches and any state which supports his administration. They then create a term to combine the northern forces, the Constitutionalist Army. This articulated Carranzas belief that the way the revolutionaries would ever be able to maintain themselves in power was by destroying the old federal army. Lastly, Carranza granted himself interim power over Executive Power and will call for elections for his replacement once peace had been restored to the country, manifesto to the Nation, Considering that General Victoriano Huerta, to whom the constitutional President Don Francisco I. The Legislative and Judicial Powers of the Federation are also not recognized, the Governments of the States that still recognize the Federal Powers that form the present Administration, are also not recognized thirty days after the publication of this Plan. The interim president of the republic will call for elections as soon as the peace has been consolidated. The most important were the revolts headed by Generals Bernardo Reyes, in November 1911, once the Plan de Guadalupe was drafted, among the principal signers of this document were Jacinto B. Treviño, Lucio Blanco, Cesáreo Castro, and Alfredo Breceda, March 26,1913 The Plan was successful in the ousting Huerta from government and gained U. S. backing against his militant regime. U. S. President Woodrow Wilson was openly hostile towards Huerta and the pressure from the Constitutionalist Army. With the revolution fragmented, Zapata and Villa spoke out against Carranzas policies, the former USS Dolphin was acquired by Mexico on 25 February 1922 and renamed the Plan de Guadalupe, serving until circa 1927. Plans in Mexican history Text of the plan History of the plan Further Information on Venustiano Carranza Further Information on Victoriano Huerta

20.
Tampico Affair
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A misunderstanding occurred on April 9,1914, but developed into a breakdown of diplomatic relations between the two countries. As a result, the United States invaded the city of Veracruz. This contributed to the fall of President Victoriano Huerta, who resigned in July 1914, by March 26,1914, Carranzas forces were 10 mi from the prosperous coastal oil town of Tampico, Tamaulipas. There was a settlement of U. S. citizens in the area due to the immense investment by U. S. firms in the local oil industry. Several U. S. Navy warships commanded by Rear Admiral Henry T. Mayo were deployed off the coast for the purpose of protecting American citizens. As a result of anti-American sentiment, Mexico maintained neutrality during World War I, refusing to support the U. S. in Europe, all the while continuing to do business with Germany. With the U. S. threatening to invade in 1918 to take control of Tampico oil fields, by the spring of 1914, diplomatic relations between the U. S. and Mexico were strained. S. The ambassador had since been removed by President Wilson, the instability caused by the ongoing Mexican Revolution threatened American lives and economic interests in Mexico. Although Tampico was besieged by Constitutionalist forces, relations between U. S. forces and Huertas federal garrison remained amicable, the gunboat Dolphin, one of the few U. S. Relations between the U. S. and Huerta deteriorated on April 9, when Mexican soldiers detained nine U. S. sailors in Tampico, the defenders of the bridge anticipated an attack, following skirmishes with Constitutionalist forces on the two preceding days. Nine U. S. sailors on a whaleboat flying the U. S. flag were dispatched to the warehouse along a canal, according to the sailors account, seven of them were moving the cans of fuel to the boat while two remained on the boat. Mexican federal soldiers were alerted to the activity and confronted the American sailors, neither side could speak the others language, and the sailors were not complying with commands from the soldiers. The Mexicans raised their rifles to the Americans, including the sailors still on the boat, General Huerta, the President of Mexico, refused to have his forces raise the U. S. flag on Mexican soil to provide a 21-gun salute. Two weeks later, negotiations were at a standstill when U. S. President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress for permission for an invasion of the area. Although this request was granted two days later, the U. S. occupation of Veracruz had already begun, President Wilson backed Mayo and ordered an increase in U. S. forces in Mexican waters. On April 18, USS Iris, Lieutenant Allen B, on April 22, President Wilson received the backing of Congress for the use of military force to resolve the conflict with Huerta. This message was relayed to Rear Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher, who commanded the squadron lying off the port of Veracruz, with the battleships USS Florida, USS Utah and the transport USS Prairie carrying 350 Marines, Fletcher received his orders at 8,00 AM on April 21. After sending some two hundred soldiers to present a defense, General Maass received orders from Mexico City to evacuate his troops to the nearby towns of Tejería

21.
United States occupation of Veracruz
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For other battles at Veracruz see Battle of Veracruz. The United States occupation of Veracruz began with the Battle of Veracruz and lasted for seven months, the incident came in the midst of poor diplomatic relations between Mexico and the United States, and was related to the ongoing Mexican Revolution. The Tampico Affair was set off when nine American sailors were arrested by the Mexican government for entering off-limit areas in Tampico, the unarmed sailors were arrested when they entered a fuel loading station. The sailors were released, but the U. S. naval commander demanded an apology, the apology was provided but not the salute. In the end, the response from U. S. President Woodrow Wilson ordered the U. S. Navy to prepare for the occupation of the port of Veracruz, while awaiting authorization from the U. S. As a result, Wilson issued an order to seize the ports customs office. Huerta had usurped the presidency of Mexico with the assistance of the American ambassador Henry Lane Wilson during a coup détat in February 1913 known as La decena trágica. The arms shipment to Mexico, in fact, in part originated from the Remington Arms company in the U. S. went to Odessa, Russia to Hamburg, where De Kay added to the load. The arms and ammunition were to be shipped via Hamburg, Germany, the landing of the arms was blocked at Veracruz but they were discharged a few weeks later in Puerto Mexico, a port controlled by Huerta at the time. On the morning of April 21,1914, warships of the United States Atlantic Fleet under the command of Rear Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher, began preparations for the seizure of the Veracruz waterfront. At 11,12 hrs, consul William Canada watched from the roof of the American Consulate that the first boatload of Marines were leaving the auxiliary vessel USS Prairie, by 11,30, with whaleboats swung over the side,502 U. S. As the landing party moved toward pier 4, Veracruzs main wharf, the invaders encountered no resistance as they exited the whaleboats, formed ranks into a Marine and a seaman regiment, and began marching toward their objectives. This initial show of force was enough to prompt the retreat of the Mexican forces led by General Gustavo Maass, in the face of this, Commodore Manuel Azueta encouraged cadets of the Veracruz Naval Academy to take up the defense of the port for themselves. Also, about 200 line soldiers of the Mexican Army remained behind to fight the invaders along with the citizens of Veracruz, Arms were distributed to the population, who were largely untrained in the use of Mausers and had trouble finding the correct ammunition. In short, the defense of the city by its populace was hindered by the lack of central organization and a lack of adequate supplies. The defense of the city included the release of the prisoners held at the La Galera military prison. Although the landing had been unopposed as U. S. forces marched into the city. Just after noon, fighting began with the 2nd Advance Base Regiment under Colonel Wendell C, neville becoming heavily involved in a firefight in the rail yards

22.
Cristero War
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The rebellion was set off by enactment under President Plutarco Elías Calles of a statute to enforce the anticlerical articles of the Mexican Constitution of 1917. Calles sought to eliminate the power of the Catholic Church and organizations affiliated with it as an institution, the massive, popular rural uprising was tacitly supported by the Church hierarchy and was aided by urban Catholic support. US Ambassador Dwight W. Morrow brokered negotiations between the Calles government and the Church, the government made some concessions, the Church withdrew its support for the Cristero fighters and the conflict ended in 1929. The Mexican Revolution remains the largest conflict in Mexican history, the overthrow of dictator Porfirio Díaz unleashed disorder, with many contending factions and regions. Having a change of leadership or a wholesale overturning of the order was potentially a danger to the Churchs position. In the democratizing wave of activity, the National Catholic Party was formed. Francisco Madero was overthrown and assassinated in a February 1913 military coup led by Gen, the Constitutionalist faction won the revolution and its leader, Venustiano Carranza, had a new revolutionary constitution drawn up. The Constitution of 1917 strengthened the anticlericalism of the previous document, neither President Carranza nor his successor, Gen. Alvaro Obregón, enforced the anticlerical articles. The Calles administration felt its revolutionary initiatives and legal basis to pursue them were being challenged by the Catholic Church, on the opposing side was an armed professional military sponsored by the government. Calles’ Mexico has been characterized as an atheist state, and his program as being one to religion in Mexico. A period of resistance to the enforcement of the anticlerical provisions of the constitution by Mexican Catholics brought no result. Skirmishing broke out in 1926, and violent uprisings began in 1927, the rebels called themselves Cristeros, invoking the name of Jesus Christ under the title of Cristo Rey or Christ the King. The rebellion eventually ended by diplomatic means brokered by the U. S. Ambassador to Mexico Dwight Whitney Morrow, with financial relief, the rebellion attracted the attention of Pope Pius XI, who issued a series of papal encyclicals between 1925–37. On December 11,1925, the pontiff issued Quas primas, on November 18,1926, he issued Iniquis afflictisque, denouncing the violent anti-clerical persecution in Mexico. Despite the governments promises to the contrary, it continued the persecution of the Church, in response, Pius issued Acerba animi on September 29,1932. The Political Constitution of the United Mexican States was drafted by the Constitutional Congress convoked by Venustiano Carranza in September 1916, the new constitution was based in the previous one instituted by Benito Juárez in 1857. Three of its 136 articles—Article 3, Article 27 and Article 130—contain heavily secularizing sections, restricting the power, the first two sections of article 3 state, I. According to the liberties established under article 24, educational services shall be secular and, therefore

23.
Mexico 68
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The Mexican Student Movement of 1968 was a student movement caused by an ideological clash between generations. Socialism and Capitalism also influenced the students and the government at that time, October 2 and the Silence March are the most important parts of the movement. Students from the IPN, UNAM and other schools forgot their differences, the 1968 Summer Olympics played an important role on the way the government acted. Both the government and the students acted according to their generational ideologies and this movement was influenced by the world’s movements at that time, like the Hippie movement. The movement influenced Mexican feminism and women played an important role in it, the events that happened from July–October 1968 are colloquially called Mexico 68. See, Columbia University protests of 1968 During this time, the Vietnam War caused a revolution around the world. With the introduction of The Pill, sexual liberation arose giving momentum to Mexico, also, the hippie movement gave place to a peace and love ideology, adopted by students worldwide who tried to extend it throughout society. These were some of the reasons why many student movements took place around the globe, there was an ideological clash between older adults and younger adults, caused by the differences between the generations to which they belonged. The newer generations were open-minded toward innovations and believed in a bright future, because of this ideological clash, the new generation was repressed by the previous one, which resulted in the formation of young adult movements. The government restricted citizens freedom of speech and action and this caused them to live a more pacified life in some ways. However, people got tired of this lifestyle, becoming discontent, Mexico, like the rest of the world, was dealing with the clash of two ideologies, socialism and capitalism, which gave place to internal conflicts. According to the Constitution, the government had the right to use force in order to maintain peace in the country. The 1968 Olympic Games took place in Mexico, making it the first developing country to host this event and this represented an important source of income to the country because of the tourists who would come to attend the Olympics. Giving a good impression to the world could lead to the introduction of international investors, however the students were against these ideals. They did not believe that the appearance of Mexico to the world was a priority and they preferred a revolution resulting in the reformation of their country. The IOC threatened to move the Games to Los Angeles if the situation deteriorated, with all these repressions and constant injustices going on in the country, the younger generations decided to take justice into their own hands. Beginning in July 1968, many students started to arise. Young adults, especially university students, tried to find a place for themselves due to the repression of society

24.
Economic history of Mexico
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Mexicos economic history has been characterized since the colonial era by resource extraction, agriculture, and a relatively underdeveloped industrial sector. Economic elites in the period were predominantly Spanish born, active as transatlantic merchants and silver mine owners. The largest sector of the population was indigenous subsistence farmers, who lived mainly in the center, New Spain was envisioned by the Spanish crown as a supplier of wealth to Iberia, which huge silver mines accomplished. A colonial economy to supply foodstuffs and products from ranching as well as a textile industry meant that the economy supplied much of its own needs. The mid-nineteenth-century Liberal Reforma attempted to decrease the power of the Roman Catholic Church. Following civil war and an intervention, the late nineteenth century found political stability. Mexico was opened to foreign investment and, to a lesser extent, foreign capital built a railway network, one of the keys for transforming the Mexican economy, by linking regions of Mexico and major cities and ports. As the construction of the bridge over a deep canyon at Metlac demonstrates. The mining industry revived in the north of Mexico and the industry developed in the north Gulf Coast states with foreign capital. Regional civil wars broke out in 1910 and lasted until 1920, following the military phase of the Revolution, Mexican regimes attempted to transform a largely rural and backward country … into a middle-sized industrial power. The Mexican Constitution of 1917 gave the Mexican government the power to expropriate property, which allowed for the distribution of land to peasants, Mexico benefited economically from its participation in World War II and the post-war years experienced what has been called the Mexican Miracle. This growth was fueled by import substitution industrialization, the Mexican economy experienced the limits of ISI and economic nationalism and Mexico sought a new model for economic growth. Huge oil reserves were discovered in the Gulf of Mexico in the late 1970s, when the price of oil dropped in the 1980s, Mexico experienced a severe financial crisis. Mexico implemented neoliberal economic policies and changed significant articles of the Mexican Constitution of 1917 to ensure private property rights against future nationalization, in the twenty-first century, Mexico has strengthened its trade ties with China, but Chinese investment projects in Mexico have hit roadblocks in 2014–15. Mexicos continued dependence on oil revenues has had an impact when oil prices drop. Mexicos economy in the period was based on resource extraction, on agriculture and ranching. In the immediate post-conquest period, the indigenous and hierarchically organized central Mexican peoples were a ready labor supply. Indian communities tribute and labor were awarded to individual conquerors in an arrangement called encomienda, the colonial landscape in central Mexico became a patchwork of different sized holdings by Spaniards and indigenous communities

25.
Chiapas conflict
–
The Zapatista uprising started in January 1994, lasting for less than two weeks, before being crushed by the government. This resulted in a division between communities with ties to the government and communities that sympathized with the Zapatistas. Social tensions, armed conflict and para-military incidents increased, culminating in the killing of 45 people in the village of Acteal in 1997 by para-militaries, though at a low level, rebel activity continues and violence occasionally erupts between Zapatista supporters and anti-Zapatista militias along with the government. The last related incident occurred in 2014, with a Zapatista-affiliated teacher killed and 15 more wounded in Chiapas. Mexico still has slavery problems today, the same issue appeared amongst the non-Criollos population in later years, especially among the Mestizo population during the 19th century. Consequently, removed from the overall Mexican economic system, the native Mayan Indian nation remained as a free, since the 1980s and 1990s, Mexicos economic policy concentrated more on industrial development and attracting foreign capital. The Salinas government initiated a process of privatization of land and this undermined the basic security of indigenous communities to land entitlement, and former ejidatorios now became formally illegal land-squatters, and their communities informal settlements. In the Lacandon jungle in Chiapas, a rebellion began to take shape against the marginalization of the population, the 1992 amendment to the Constitution. On 1 January 1994, the day on which NAFTA became operational, the EZLN seized five villages in the state. The government responded by calling in the forces to retake the areas,12 days of fighting ensued until a ceasefire was declared. These developments attracted a lot of international attention, the government will need to eliminate the Zapatistas to demonstrate their effective control of the national territory and of security policy. To break the peace negotiations were started in March 1995 in the village of San Andrés Larráinzar. In 1996 the Comisión de Concordia y Pacificación presented a proposal of constitutional reform based on the San Andrés Accords to the EZLN and the federal government. As a gesture of political will to solve the conflict peacefully the Zedillo-government signed this proposal, thereby recognizing the indigenous culture and its right to land and these agreements however were not complied with in the following years and the peace process stagnated. This resulted in a division between people and communities with ties to the government and communities that sympathized with the Zapatistas. Social tensions, armed conflict and para-military incidents increased, culminating in the killing of 45 people in the village of Acteal in 1997 by para-militaries, internationally this atrocity led to great upheaval. The European Parliament even proposed to postpone the ratification of the agreement, nevertheless, the treaty with the European Commission came into effect on July 1,2000, one day before presidential elections in Mexico were scheduled. When Fox entered office in November 2000, he pledged to honour the San Andrés Accords, to enforce their demands in Congress, the Zapatistas organized a march to the capital in March 2001. This new law was criticized by the International Labour Organization for violating ILO-convention 169, the EZLN felt betrayed and suspended all dialogue with the government, and the Zapatistas unilaterally installed the self-determination Juntas de Buen Gobierno in 2003

26.
Mexican Drug War
–
The Mexican Drug War is the Mexican theater of the United States War on Drugs, involving an ongoing low-intensity asymmetric war between the Mexican Government and various drug trafficking syndicates. Since 2006, when the Mexican military began to intervene, the principal goal has been to reduce the drug-related violence. Additionally, the Mexican government has claimed that their focus is on dismantling the powerful drug cartels, rather than on preventing drug trafficking. Mexican drug cartels now dominate the wholesale illicit drug market and in 2007 controlled 90% of the entering the United States. Arrests of key leaders, particularly in the Tijuana and Gulf cartels, has led to increasing drug violence as cartels fight for control of the trafficking routes into the United States. Analysts estimate that wholesale earnings from illicit drug sales range from $13.6 to $49.4 billion annually, by the end of Felipe Calderóns administration, the official death toll of the Mexican Drug War was at least 60,000. Estimates set the death toll above 120,000 killed by 2013, given its geographic location, Mexico has long been used as a staging and transshipment point for narcotics and contraband between Latin America and U. S. markets. Towards the end of the 1960s, Mexican narcotic smugglers started to smuggle drugs on a major scale, during the 1970s and early 1980s, Colombias Pablo Escobar was the main exporter of cocaine and dealt with organized criminal networks all over the world. By the mid-1980s, the organizations from Mexico were well-established and reliable transporters of Colombian cocaine, transporters from Mexico usually were given 35% to 50% of each cocaine shipment. This arrangement meant that organizations from Mexico became involved in the distribution, as well as the transportation of cocaine, currently, the Sinaloa Cartel and the Gulf Cartel have taken over trafficking cocaine from Colombia to the worldwide markets. The balance of power between the various Mexican cartels continually shifts as new organizations emerge and older ones weaken and collapse, a disruption in the system, such as the arrests or deaths of cartel leaders, generates bloodshed as rivals move in to exploit the power vacuum. The fighting between rival drug cartels began in earnest after the 1989 arrest of Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, there was a lull in the fighting during the late 1990s but the violence has steadily worsened since 2000. The center-left PRI party ruled Mexico for around 70 years until 2000, during this time, drug cartels expanded their power and corruption, and anti-drug operations focused mainly on destroying marijuana and opium crops in mountainous regions. It is estimated that about 110 people died in Nuevo Laredo between January and August 2005 as a result of the fighting between the Gulf and Sinaloa cartels. The same year, there was another surge in violence in the state of Michoacán as the La Familia Michoacana drug cartel established itself, on December 11,2006, the newly elected President Felipe Calderón sent 6,500 Mexican Army soldiers to Michoacán to end drug violence there. As time passed, Calderón continued to escalate his anti-drug campaign, in there are now about 45,000 troops involved along with state. Mexico is a drug transit and producing country. It is the main supplier of cannabis and an important entry point of South American cocaine

27.
Reform laws
–
The War of the Reform is one of many episodes of the long struggle between Liberal and Conservative forces that dominated the country’s history in the 19th century. The Liberals wanted to eliminate the political, economic, and cultural power of the Catholic church as well as undermine the role of the Mexican Army, both the Catholic Church and the Army were protected by corporate or institutional privileges established in the colonial era. Liberals sought to create a modern nation-state founded on liberal principles, the liberals passed a series of separate laws implementing their vision of Mexico, and then promulgated the Constitution of 1857, which gave constitutional force to their program. The Liberals lack military experience and lost most of the early battles, Liberal victories accumulated thereafter until Conservative forces surrendered in December 1860. After the end of the Mexican War of Independence, the country was divided as it tried to recover from more than a decade of fighting. From 1821-57,50 different governments ruled the country and these included dictatorships, constitutional republican governments and a monarchy. The political division was divided into two groups, the Liberals and the Conservatives. The Liberal political movements had their beginnings in the meetings of the Freemasonry. The secret nature of the society allowed for discreet political discussion, Conservatives favored a strong centralized government, with many wanting a European-style monarchy. Conservatives favored protecting many of the institutions inherited from the period, including tax and legal exemptions for the Catholic Church. Liberals favored the establishment of a federalist republic based on ideas coming out of the European Enlightenment, until the end of the Reform period Mexico’s history would be dominated by these two factions vying for control and fighting against foreign incursions at the same time. The Reform Era of Mexican history is defined from 1855-76. In the 1850s the Liberal ousted Antonio López de Santa Anna under the Plan of Ayutla in 1855 and this ascendancy came after the loss of about half of Mexico’s national territory to the US in the Mexican–American War. Liberals believed that the power of the Roman Catholic Church. The Liberals challenge to the Catholic Churchs hegemony in Mexico came about in stages even before the 1850s and this included Catholic newspapers such as La Cruz and conservative groups that strongly attacked Liberal policies and ideology. This ideology had roots in the European Enlightenment, which sought to reduce the role of the Catholic Church in society. The Reforms began in the 1830s and 1840s coalesced into the laws of the Reform era. The 1857 Constitution of Mexico was promulgated near the end of the first phase, more Reform laws were passed from 1861–63 and after 1867 when the Liberals emerged victorious after two civil wars with Conservative opponents

28.
Constitution of 1857
–
It was ratified on February 5,1857, establishing individual rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and the right to bear arms. It also reaffirmed the abolition of slavery, eliminated debtor prison, some articles were contrary to the interests of the Catholic Church, such as education free of dogma, the removal of institutional fueros and the sale of property belonging to the church. The Conservative Party strongly opposed the enactment of the new constitution, the Reform War began as a result, and the struggles between liberals and conservatives were intensified with the implementation of the Second Mexican Empire under the support of the church. Years later, with the republic, the Constitution was in force throughout the country until 1917. Having overthrown the dictatorship of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna in 1855, the following year, the incumbent president, Ignacio Comonfort, endorsed the call for moving the headquarters to Mexico City. The Congress was divided between two main factions, the larger being the moderate liberals whose plan was to restore the Constitution of 1824 with some changes. It included prominent figures like Mariano Arizcorreta, Marcelino Castañeda, Joaquín Cardoso, the opposition was the pure liberals, who wanted to make a complete new version of the constitution. Among them were Ponciano Arriaga, Guillermo Prieto, Francisco Zarco, José María Mata, the discussions were heated and lasted over a year. President Comonfort interfered, through its ministers in favor of the moderate faction and these reforms were contrary to the interests of the Catholic Church. During the course of sessions in Congress, an insurrection in favor of the supported by conservative. Comonfort sent federal troops, and the rebels were subjected, finally, the Constitution was promulgated on February 5,1857, under the threats of the clergy that who swore the Constitution would be excommunicated. Supported the autonomy of municipalities in each state was divided politically. The most relevant articles were, Among other things, included a chapter on individual guarantees, despite the Texas case, some Deputies proposed a law granting certain rights to foreign colonization arguing that the country needed to be settled, the law was rejected. At the time of the promulgation of the constitution, the nation was composed of 23 states, Nuevo León merges with Coahuila adopting the latter name, besides, ratified the creation of a new state and admitted three of the four territories as free states of the federation. The only federal territory was, Baja California, Mexico City was called state of Valley of Mexico, on February 26,1864, Nuevo León was separated from Coahuila and regained its status as free state. On December,1856, Pope Pius IX spoke out against the new Constitution, criticizing the Juarez Law, in March 1857 the Archbishop José Lázaro de la Garza y Ballesteros, stated that Catholics could not swear allegiance to the Constitution on pain of excommunication. Justice Minister Ezequiel Montes met in the Holy See with Cardinal Secretary of State, the pope accepted the Ley Juárez and disposals of Lerdo Law, but demanded the ability to acquire political rights. The negotiations were interrupted by the resignation of President Comonfort and it began to gestate a coup, General conservative Felix Maria Zuloaga promoted through several writings his repudiation to the Constitution

29.
Separation of church and state
–
The separation of church and state is a concept defining the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state. It may refer to creating a state, with or without explicit reference to such separation. The concept parallels various other social and political ideas, including secularism, disestablishmentarianism, religious liberty. Whitman observes that in many European countries, the state has, over the centuries, taken over the roles of the church. Many societies in antiquity had imperial cults where heads of state were worshiped as messiahs, ancient history is replete with examples of political leaders who derived legitimacy through religious titles. Sargon of Akkad was referred to as the deputy of Ishtar, julius Caesar was elected as Pontifex Maximus, the chief priest of the Roman state religion before he became the consul of Rome. Caligula referred to himself as a god when meeting with politicians, in this work, Augustine posited that major points of overlap were to be found between the earthly city and the city of God, especially as people need to live together and get along on earth. Thus Augustine held that it was the work of the city to make it possible for a heavenly city to be established on earth. For centuries, monarchs ruled by the idea of divine right, sometimes this began to be used by a monarch to support the notion that the king ruled both his own kingdom and Church within its boundaries, a theory known as caesaropapism. On the other side was the Catholic doctrine that the Pope, as the Vicar of Christ on earth, should have the authority over the Church. In the West the issue of the separation of church and state during the medieval period centered on monarchs who ruled in the secular sphere, at the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther articulated a doctrine of the two kingdoms. While there was a diversity of views in the days of the Radical Reformation. Anabaptists came to teach that religion should never be compelled by state power, approaching the issue of church-state relations primarily from the position of protecting the church from the state. In the 1530s, Henry VIII, angered by the Pope Clement VIIs refusal to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, decided to break with the Church and set himself as ruler of the Church of England. The monarchs of Great Britain have retained ecclesiastical authority in the Church of England since Henry VIII, having the current title, englands ecclesiastical intermixing did not spread widely, however, due to the extensive persecution of Catholics that resulted from Henrys power grab. Some of these people voluntarily sailed to the American Colonies specifically for this purpose, the concept of separating church and state is often credited to the writings of English philosopher John Locke. For Locke, this created a right in the liberty of conscience. At the same period of the 17th century, Pierre Bayle and some fideists were forerunners of the separation of Church and State, maintaining that faith was independent of reason

30.
Napoleon III
–
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the only President of the French Second Republic and, as Napoleon III, the Emperor of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I and he was the first President of France to be elected by a direct popular vote. He remains the longest-serving French head of state since the French Revolution, during the first years of the Empire, Napoleons government imposed censorship and harsh repressive measures against his opponents. Some six thousand were imprisoned or sent to penal colonies until 1859, thousands more went into voluntary exile abroad, including Victor Hugo. From 1862 onwards, he relaxed government censorship, and his came to be known as the Liberal Empire. Many of his opponents returned to France and became members of the National Assembly, Napoleon III is best known today for his grand reconstruction of Paris, carried out by his prefect of the Seine, Baron Haussmann. He launched similar public works projects in Marseille, Lyon, Napoleon III modernized the French banking system, greatly expanded and consolidated the French railway system, and made the French merchant marine the second largest in the world. He promoted the building of the Suez Canal and established modern agriculture, Napoleon III negotiated the 1860 Cobden–Chevalier free trade agreement with Britain and similar agreements with Frances other European trading partners. Social reforms included giving French workers the right to strike and the right to organize, womens education greatly expanded, as did the list of required subjects in public schools. In foreign policy, Napoleon III aimed to reassert French influence in Europe and he was a supporter of popular sovereignty and of nationalism. In Europe, he allied with Britain and defeated Russia in the Crimean War and his regime assisted Italian unification and, in doing so, annexed Savoy and the County of Nice to France, at the same time, his forces defended the Papal States against annexation by Italy. Napoleon doubled the area of the French overseas empire in Asia, the Pacific, on the other hand, his armys intervention in Mexico which aimed to create a Second Mexican Empire under French protection ended in failure. Beginning in 1866, Napoleon had to face the power of Prussia. In July 1870, Napoleon entered the Franco-Prussian War without allies, the French army was rapidly defeated and Napoleon III was captured at the Battle of Sedan. The French Third Republic was proclaimed in Paris, and Napoleon went into exile in England, charles-Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, later known as Louis Napoleon and then Napoleon III, was born in Paris on the night of 20–21 April 1808. His presumed father was Louis Bonaparte, the brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. His mother was Hortense de Beauharnais, the daughter by the first marriage of Napoleons wife Joséphine de Beauharnais, as empress, Joséphine proposed the marriage as a way to produce an heir for the Emperor, who agreed, as Joséphine was by then infertile. Louis married Hortense when he was twenty-four and she was nineteen and they had a difficult relationship, and only lived together for brief periods

31.
French Intervention in Mexico
–
It followed President Benito Juárezs suspension of interest payments to foreign countries on 17 July 1861, which angered these three major creditors of Mexico. Emperor Napoleon III of France was the instigator, justifying military intervention by claiming a broad foreign policy of commitment to free trade, for him, a friendly government in Mexico would ensure European access to Latin American markets. Napoleon also wanted the silver that could be mined in Mexico to finance his empire, Napoleon built a coalition with Spain and Britain while the U. S. was deeply engaged in its civil war. The three European powers signed the Treaty of London on 31 October 1861, to unite their efforts to receive payments from Mexico, on 8 December the Spanish fleet and troops arrived at Mexicos main port, Veracruz. When the British and Spanish discovered that France planned to all of Mexico. The subsequent French invasion resulted in the Second Mexican Empire, after heavy guerrilla resistance led by Juárez, which continued even after the capital had fallen in 1863, the French eventually withdrew from Mexico and Maximilian I was executed in 1867. The British, Spanish and French fleets arrived at Veracruz, between 8 and 17 December 1861 intending to pressure the Mexicans into settling their debts, the Spanish fleet seized San Juan de Ulúa and subsequently the capital Veracruz on 17 December. The European forces advanced to Orizaba, Cordoba and Tehuacán, as they had agreed in the Convention of Soledad, the city of Campeche surrendered to the French fleet on 27 February 1862, and a French army, commanded by General Lorencez, arrived on 5 March. When the Spanish and British realised the French ambition was to conquer Mexico, they withdrew their forces on 9 April, in May, the French man-of-war Bayonnaise blockaded Mazatlán for a few days. Mexican forces commanded by General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated the French army in the Battle of Puebla on 5 May 1862, the pursuing Mexican army was contained by the French at Orizaba, Veracruz, on 14 June. More French troops arrived on 21 September, and General Bazaine arrived with French reinforcements on 16 October, the French occupied the port of Tampico on 23 October, and unopposed by Mexican forces took control of Xalapa, Veracruz on 12 December. The French bombarded Veracruz on 15 January 1863, two months later, on 16 March, General Forey and the French Army began the siege of Puebla. They were forced to make a defence in a nearby hacienda, danjou was mortally wounded at the hacienda, and his men mounted an almost suicidal bayonet attack, fighting to nearly the last man, only three French Legionnaires survived. To this day, the anniversary of 30 April remains the most important day of celebration for Legionnaires. The French army of General François Achille Bazaine defeated the Mexican army led by General Comonfort in its campaign to relieve the siege of Puebla, at San Lorenzo, Puebla surrendered to the French shortly afterward, on 17 May. On 31 May, President Juárez fled the city with his cabinet, retreating northward to Paso del Norte, having taken the treasure of the state with them, the government-in-exile remained in Chihuahua until 1867. French troops under Bazaine entered Mexico City on 7 June 1863, the main army entered the city three days later led by General Forey. General Almonte was appointed the provisional President of Mexico on 16 June, the Superior Junta with its 35 members met on 21 June, and proclaimed a Catholic Empire on 10 July

32.
Ignacio Comonfort
–
Ignacio Gregorio Comonfort de los Ríos, known as Ignacio Comonfort, was a Mexican politician and soldier. He became President of Mexico in 1855 after a the outbreak of the Revolution of Ayutla overthrew Santa Anna and he was born in 1812 to French parents in Puebla de los Ángeles, in the state of Puebla, New Spain. He participated in the Mexican-American War, Comonfort was president of Mexico from 11 December 1855 to 21 January 1858. During his term as president, Benito Juárez served as president of the Supreme Court of Mexico and he was a moderate liberal who tried to maintain an uncertain coalition, but the moderate liberals and the radical liberals were unable to resolve their sharp differences. During his presidency, the Constitution of 1857 was drafted creating the Second Federal Republic of Mexico, the new constitution restricted some of the Catholic Churchs traditional privileges regarding land holdings, revenues and control over education. It granted religious freedom, and only stated that the Catholic Church was the favored faith, the anti-clerical radicals scored a major victory with the ratification of the constitution, because it weakened the Church and enfranchised all citizens. The constitution was unacceptable to the clergy and the conservatives, the country descended into the War of the Reform, a civil war launched by reactionaries against the Constitution of 1857 which, among other things, had abolished privileges for the Catholic Church. Shortly after the adoption of the Constitution of 1857, a board of generals staged a coup détat, proclaiming the Plan of Tacubaya, President Comonfort, representing himself as a moderate, wavered but decided to go along with the generals. In exchange, the Catholic Church repealed the March 1857 excommunication decree for those who adhered to the new plan, on 17 December 1857, anti-constitutional forces led by General Félix Zuloaga took control of the capital without firing a shot. But defenders of the 1857 Constitution did not stay calm for long, President Comonfort then decreed himself extraordinary powers, an action which alienated both the reactionary rebels as well as the constitutionalists. As unrest grew, many opponents were imprisoned or shot, even Benito Juárez was put behind bars for several days. On 11 January 1858, General Zuloaga demanded the ouster of the President, Comonfort resigned, and according to the Constitution of 1857, Benito Juárez, President of the Supreme Court, assumed the presidency. In opposition, the board of generals and Catholic clergy selected General Zuloaga as their president, after seeking asylum in the United States, Comonfort returned to act again as a general against the French invasion in 1862. He died the year on 13 November 1863 after being attacked by a group of bandits near Celaya. List of heads of state of Mexico Plan of Ayutla Liberalism in Mexico Constitution of 1857 Historical Text Archive, Comonfort, Ignacio By Kindra Cowan Profile at presidencia. gob. mx

33.
Melchor Ocampo
–
Melchor Ocampo was a mestizo by birth, a radical liberal Mexican lawyer, scientist, and politician. He was fiercely anticlerical, perhaps an atheist, and his writings against Roman Catholic Church in Mexico gained him a reputation as an articulate liberal ideologue. Ocampo has been considered the heir to José María Luis Mora and he served in the administration of Benito Juárez and negotiated a controversial agreement with the United States, the McLane-Ocampo Treaty. His home state was later renamed Michoacán de Ocampo in his honor. Melchor Ocampo was perhaps orphaned and left abandoned at the gate of a hacienda of wealthy woman, Doña Francisca Xaviera Tapia, Ocampo studied at the Roman Catholic seminary in Morelia, Michoacán, and later law at the Colegio Seminario de México. He began working in a law office in 1833, for unknown reasons, he left the practice of law and returned to his hacienda, perhaps because of its imminent bankruptcy. In 1840, he traveled to France, where he was influenced by liberal and anticlerical ideas of the Enlightenment and he returned after a year to Michoacán to work his lands, practice law, investigate the regions flora and fauna, and study the local indigenous languages. More importantly, he entered politics in Michoacan, in opposition to Antonio López de Santa Anna, Ocampo was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1842. In 1844, Manuel Gómez Pedraza became president of Mexico and appointed Ocampo Governor of Michoacán and he was an activist governor, reorganizing the state treasury, building roads, proposing the founding of schools, and improving the conditions of the national guard in Michoacán. During the Mexican-American War he recruited troops without conscription or increased taxes, Ocampo urged that the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the Mexican-American War be rejected. Degollado later was murdered seeking the murderers of his patron Ocampo, Ocampo believed was fiercely anticlerical and challenged the power of the Roman Catholic Church in Mexico. He viewed the church as sucking wealth from indigenous with high fees for ecclesiastical services. He pointed to high fees for ecclesiastical services and the proliferation of fiestas. These provided income for priests as well as further impoverishing indigenous who bought candles, incense. Clerical fees for Christian sacraments meant the birth, marriage, and death meant income for priests who charged for baptism, holy matrimony, and burial. A vivid story he related about this practice concerned a peasant who could not afford the fees for his son. The priest refused, contending that this was what he lived on, the poor man had asked, Sir, what shall I do with my dead son. And the priest had answered him, Salt him and eat him, the church had the responsibility for education in Mexico and like other aspects of the churchs role in Mexico, access was based on the ability to pay

34.
Mexican Constitution of 1857
–
It was ratified on February 5,1857, establishing individual rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and the right to bear arms. It also reaffirmed the abolition of slavery, eliminated debtor prison, some articles were contrary to the interests of the Catholic Church, such as education free of dogma, the removal of institutional fueros and the sale of property belonging to the church. The Conservative Party strongly opposed the enactment of the new constitution, the Reform War began as a result, and the struggles between liberals and conservatives were intensified with the implementation of the Second Mexican Empire under the support of the church. Years later, with the republic, the Constitution was in force throughout the country until 1917. Having overthrown the dictatorship of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna in 1855, the following year, the incumbent president, Ignacio Comonfort, endorsed the call for moving the headquarters to Mexico City. The Congress was divided between two main factions, the larger being the moderate liberals whose plan was to restore the Constitution of 1824 with some changes. It included prominent figures like Mariano Arizcorreta, Marcelino Castañeda, Joaquín Cardoso, the opposition was the pure liberals, who wanted to make a complete new version of the constitution. Among them were Ponciano Arriaga, Guillermo Prieto, Francisco Zarco, José María Mata, the discussions were heated and lasted over a year. President Comonfort interfered, through its ministers in favor of the moderate faction and these reforms were contrary to the interests of the Catholic Church. During the course of sessions in Congress, an insurrection in favor of the supported by conservative. Comonfort sent federal troops, and the rebels were subjected, finally, the Constitution was promulgated on February 5,1857, under the threats of the clergy that who swore the Constitution would be excommunicated. Supported the autonomy of municipalities in each state was divided politically. The most relevant articles were, Among other things, included a chapter on individual guarantees, despite the Texas case, some Deputies proposed a law granting certain rights to foreign colonization arguing that the country needed to be settled, the law was rejected. At the time of the promulgation of the constitution, the nation was composed of 23 states, Nuevo León merges with Coahuila adopting the latter name, besides, ratified the creation of a new state and admitted three of the four territories as free states of the federation. The only federal territory was, Baja California, Mexico City was called state of Valley of Mexico, on February 26,1864, Nuevo León was separated from Coahuila and regained its status as free state. On December,1856, Pope Pius IX spoke out against the new Constitution, criticizing the Juarez Law, in March 1857 the Archbishop José Lázaro de la Garza y Ballesteros, stated that Catholics could not swear allegiance to the Constitution on pain of excommunication. Justice Minister Ezequiel Montes met in the Holy See with Cardinal Secretary of State, the pope accepted the Ley Juárez and disposals of Lerdo Law, but demanded the ability to acquire political rights. The negotiations were interrupted by the resignation of President Comonfort and it began to gestate a coup, General conservative Felix Maria Zuloaga promoted through several writings his repudiation to the Constitution

35.
Freedom of religion
–
It also includes the freedom to change ones religion or belief. Freedom of religion is considered by people and most of the nations to be a fundamental human right. Historically, freedom of religion has been used to refer to the tolerance of different theological systems of belief, each of these have existed to varying degrees. Compare examples of individual freedom in Italy or the Muslim tradition of dhimmis, in Antiquity, a syncretic point of view often allowed communities of traders to operate under their own customs. When street mobs of separate quarters clashed in a Hellenistic or Roman city, Cyrus the Great established the Achaemenid Empire ca.550 BC, and initiated a general policy of permitting religious freedom throughout the empire, documenting this on the Cyrus Cylinder. Some of the exceptions have been in regions where one of the revealed religions has been in a position of power, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity. This was the core for resentment and the persecution of early Christian communities, Freedom of religious worship was established in the Buddhist Maurya Empire of ancient India by Ashoka the Great in the 3rd century BC, which was encapsulated in the Edicts of Ashoka. Greek-Jewish clashes at Cyrene in 73 AD and 117 AD and in Alexandria in 115 AD provide examples of cities as scenes of tumult. Dhimmis were allowed to operate their own courts following their own systems in cases that did not involve other religious groups. ISIS re-established the punitive jizya tax and forbade Christians in Syria from building places of worship, ringing bells, wearing crosses or criticizing Islam, ancient Jews fleeing from persecution in their homeland 2,500 years ago settled in India and never faced anti-Semitism. Freedom of religion edicts have been written during Ashoka the Greats reign in the 3rd century BC. Freedom to practise, preach and propagate any religion is a right in Modern India. Most major religious festivals of the communities are included in the list of national holidays. Although India is an 80% Hindu country, India is a state without any state religions. Many scholars and intellectuals believe that Indias predominant religion, Hinduism, has long been a most tolerant religion, rajni Kothari, founder of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies has written, is a country built on the foundations of a civilisation that is fundamentally non-religious. The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan leader in exile, said that religious tolerance of Aryabhoomi, not only Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism which are the native religions but also Christianity and Islam have flourished here. Religious tolerance is inherent in Indian tradition, the Dalai Lama said, Freedom of religion in the Indian subcontinent is exemplified by the reign of King Piyadasi. One of King Ashokas main concerns was to reform governmental institutes and exercise moral principles in his attempt to create a just and humane society

36.
Veracruz
–
It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is Xalapa-Enríquez. This state is located in Eastern Mexico and it is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north, San Luis Potosí and Hidalgo to the west, Puebla to the southwest, Oaxaca and Chiapas to the south, and Tabasco to the southeast. On its east, Veracruz has a significant share of the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico, the state is noted for its mixed ethnic and indigenous populations. Its cuisine reflects the cultural influences that have come through the state because of the importance of the port of Veracruz. In addition to the city, the states largest cities include Veracruz, Coatzacoalcos, Córdoba, Minatitlán, Poza Rica, Boca Del Río. The full name of the state is Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, Veracruz was named after the city of Veracruz, which was originally called the Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz. The suffix is in honor of Ignacio de la Llave y Segura Zevallos, the state’s seal was authorized by the state legislature in 1954, adapting the one used for the port of Veracruz and created by the Spanish in the early 16th century. The state is a strip of land wedged between the Sierra Madre Oriental to the west and the Gulf of Mexico to the east. Its total area is 78,815 km2, accounting for about 3. 7% of Mexico’s total territory and it stretches about 650 km north to south, but its width varies from between 212 km to 36 km, with an average of about 100 km in width. Veracruz shares common borders with the states of Tamaulipas, Oaxaca and Chiapas, Tabasco, and Puebla, Hidalgo, Veracruz has 690 km of coastline with the Gulf of Mexico. The topography changes drastically, rising from the coastal plains to the highlands of the eastern Sierra Madre. Elevation varies from sea level to the Pico de Orizaba, Mexico’s highest peak at 5,636 m above sea level, the coast consists of low sandy strips interspersed with tidewater streams and lagoons. Most of the coastline is narrow and sandy with unstable dunes, small shifting lagoons. The mountains are of the Sierra Madre Oriental and the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, major peaks include Pico de Orizaba, Cofre de Perote, Cerro de Tecomates, Cerro del Vigía Alta and Cerro de 3 Tortas. The Pico de Orizaba is covered in snow year round, the Cofre de Perote is covered in winter, major valleys include the Acultzingo, Córdoba, Maltrata, Orizaba and San Andrés. All of the rivers and streams cross the state begin in the Sierra Madre Oriental or in the Central Mesa. The largest in terms of discharge are the Pánuco, Tuxpan, Papaloapan, Coazocoalcos. The Panuco, Tuxpan, Papaloapan and Coatzacoalcos are navigable, two of Mexicos most polluted rivers, the Coatzacoalcos and the Río Blanco are located in the state

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Mexico City
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Mexico City, or City of Mexico, is the capital and most populous city of Mexico. As an alpha global city, Mexico City is one of the most important financial centers in the Americas and it is located in the Valley of Mexico, a large valley in the high plateaus at the center of Mexico, at an altitude of 2,240 metres. The city consists of sixteen municipalities, the 2009 estimated population for the city proper was approximately 8.84 million people, with a land area of 1,485 square kilometres. The Greater Mexico City has a domestic product of US$411 billion in 2011. The city was responsible for generating 15. 8% of Mexicos Gross Domestic Product, as a stand-alone country, in 2013, Mexico City would be the fifth-largest economy in Latin America—five times as large as Costa Ricas and about the same size as Perus. Mexico’s capital is both the oldest capital city in the Americas and one of two founded by Amerindians, the other being Quito. In 1524, the municipality of Mexico City was established, known as México Tenochtitlán, Mexico City served as the political, administrative and financial center of a major part of the Spanish colonial empire. After independence from Spain was achieved, the district was created in 1824. Ever since, the left-wing Party of the Democratic Revolution has controlled both of them, in recent years, the local government has passed a wave of liberal policies, such as abortion on request, a limited form of euthanasia, no-fault divorce, and same-sex marriage. On January 29,2016, it ceased to be called the Federal District and is now in transition to become the countrys 32nd federal entity, giving it a level of autonomy comparable to that of a state. Because of a clause in the Mexican Constitution, however, as the seat of the powers of the federation, it can never become a state, the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan was founded by the Mexica people in 1325. According to legend, the Mexicas principal god, Huitzilopochtli indicated the site where they were to build their home by presenting an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak. Between 1325 and 1521, Tenochtitlan grew in size and strength, eventually dominating the other city-states around Lake Texcoco, when the Spaniards arrived, the Aztec Empire had reached much of Mesoamerica, touching both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. After landing in Veracruz, Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés advanced upon Tenochtitlan with the aid of many of the native peoples. Cortés put Moctezuma under house arrest, hoping to rule through him, the Aztecs thought the Spaniards were permanently gone, and they elected a new king, Cuitláhuac, but he soon died, the next king was Cuauhtémoc. Cortés began a siege of Tenochtitlan in May 1521, for three months, the city suffered from the lack of food and water as well as the spread of smallpox brought by the Europeans. Cortés and his allies landed their forces in the south of the island, the Spaniards practically razed Tenochtitlan during the final siege of the conquest. Cortés first settled in Coyoacán, but decided to rebuild the Aztec site to erase all traces of the old order and he did not establish a territory under his own personal rule, but remained loyal to the Spanish crown

History of Mexico
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The history of Mexico, a country in the southern portion of North America, covers a period of more than three millennia. First populated more than 13,000 years ago, the territory had complex indigenous civilizations before being conquered and colonized by the Spanish in the 16th century and this era before the arrival of Europeans is called various

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El Tajín

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The Castillo, Chichen Itza, Mexico, ca. 800-900 CE. A temple to Kukulkan sits atop this pyramid with a total of 365 stairs on its four sides. At the winter and summer equinoxes, the sun casts a shadow in the shape of a serpent along the northern staircase.

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Cueva Olla

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Tonina stucco frieze

Coat of arms of Mexico
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The current coat of arms of Mexico has been an important symbol of Mexican politics and culture for centuries. The coat of arms depicts a Mexican golden eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus devouring a rattlesnake, to the people of Tenochtitlan this would have strong religious connotations, but to the Europeans, it would come to symbolize the tri

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Depiction of founding myth from the post-Conquest Mendoza Codex.

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Seal

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Teocalli of the Sacred War sculpted in 1325

Pre-Columbian Mexico
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While relatively few documents of the Mixtec and Aztec cultures of the Post-Classic period survived the Spanish conquest, more progress has been made in the area of Mayan archaeology and epigraphy. It is currently unclear whether 21, 000-year-old campfire remains found in the Valley of Mexico are the earliest human remains in Mexico, indigenous peo

1.
An image of one of the pyramids in the upper level of Yaxchilán

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Olmec colossal head 1, at Jalapa.

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View of Avenue of the Dead from Pyramid of the Moon

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Mayan architecture at Uxmal

Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
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The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was one of the most significant events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Many of those on the Cortés expedition of 1519 had never seen combat before, in fact, Cortés had never commanded men in battle before. However, there was a generation of Spaniards who participated in expeditions in the Caribb

New Spain
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New Spain was a colonial territory of the Spanish Empire, in the New World north of the Isthmus of Panama. It was established following the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1521, after 1535 the colony was governed by the Viceroy of New Spain, an appointed minister of the King of Spain, who ruled as monarch over the colony. The capital of New

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"Vázquez de Coronado Sets Out to the North" (1540) by Frederic Remington, oil on canvas, 1905

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Flag

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Indian Wedding and Flying Pole, circa 1690

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Route from Philippines to Acapulco, México

Mexican War of Independence
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The Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict, and the culmination of a political and social process which ended the rule of Spain in 1821 in the territory of New Spain. September 16 is celebrated as Mexican Independence Day, the movement for independence was inspired by the Age of Enlightenment and the liberal revolutions of the last part

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Clockwise from top left: Miguel Hidalgo, José María Morelos, Embrace of Acatempan between Iturbide and Guerrero, Trigarante Army in Mexico City, Mural of independence by O'Gorman

First Mexican Empire
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The Mexican Empire was a short-lived monarchy and the first independent post-colonial state in Mexico. It was the former colony of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after independence and for a short time, together with the Empire of Brazil. The First Mexican Empire was short-lived, lasting less than two years, the first and only monarch o

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Flag

First Mexican Republic
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For the current entity named United Mexican States, see Mexico. The First Federal Republic was a period in Mexican history corresponding to the first time in both, republic and federation were established as form of government in the Mexican nation. The republic was proclaimed on November 1,1823 by Constituent Congress, the federation was formally

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Flag

Centralist Republic of Mexico
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The Centralist Republic of Mexico, officially the Mexican Republic was a unitary political regime established in Mexico on October 23,1835, after the repeal of the Constitution of 1824. Like Spanish moderados, the Mexican conservatives were inspired by the ideal of a centralized, the unitary regime was formally established on December 30,1836, with

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Flag

Texas Revolution
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The Texas Revolution began when colonists in the Mexican province of Texas rebelled against the increasingly centralized Mexican government. After a decade of political and cultural clashes between the Mexican government and the large population of American settlers in Texas, hostilities erupted in October 1835. Texians disagreed on whether the goa

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The campaigns of the Texas Revolution

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A reproduction of the original Come and take it flag, which flew during the battle of Gonzales

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General Martín Perfecto de Cos

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Antonio López de Santa Anna

Pastry War
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It ended several months later in March 1839 with a British-brokered peace. The intervention followed many claims by French nationals of losses due to unrest in Mexico, during the early years of the new Mexican republic there was widespread civil disorder as factions competed for control of the country. The fighting often resulted in the destruction

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Bombing of San Juan de Ulúa in 1838

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French troops under Prince de Joinville attack residence of General Arista in Veracruz, 1838.

Second Federal Republic of Mexico
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For the current entity named United Mexican States, see Mexico. The Second Federal Republic of Mexico is the given to the second attempt to achieve a federalist government in Mexico. Officially called the United Mexican States, a republic was implemented again on August 22,1846 when interim president José Mariano Salas issued a decree restoring the

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General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna

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Flag

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Benito Juárez, constitutional leader and president

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Battle of Puebla (5 May 1862)

Reform War
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The War of the Reform is one of many episodes of the long struggle between Liberal and Conservative forces that dominated the country’s history in the 19th century. The Liberals wanted to eliminate the political, economic, and cultural power of the Catholic church as well as undermine the role of the Mexican Army, both the Catholic Church and the A

1.
Conservatives

French intervention in Mexico
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It followed President Benito Juárezs suspension of interest payments to foreign countries on 17 July 1861, which angered these three major creditors of Mexico. Emperor Napoleon III of France was the instigator, justifying military intervention by claiming a broad foreign policy of commitment to free trade, for him, a friendly government in Mexico w

1.
Clockwise from left: French assault during the Second Battle of Puebla; French cavalry seize the Republican flag during the Battle of San Pablo del Monte; depiction of the execution of Emperor Maximilian I by Édouard Manet.

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The Battle of Puebla, 1862

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Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico

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Battle of Miahuatlán, 3 October 1866

Second Mexican Empire
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It was created with the support of Napoleon III of France, who attempted to establish a monarchist ally in the Americas. A referendum confirmed the coronation of the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, the Empire came to an end on June 19,1867, with the execution of Emperor Maximilian I. The rule of Emperor Maximilian was blemished by constant

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The Offering of the Mexican Crown by a Mexican delegation, Miramare, 1863.

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Flag

Porfiriato
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The history of Mexico, a country in the southern portion of North America, covers a period of more than three millennia. First populated more than 13,000 years ago, the territory had complex indigenous civilizations before being conquered and colonized by the Spanish in the 16th century and this era before the arrival of Europeans is called various

1.
El Tajín

2.
Cueva Olla

3.
Tonina stucco frieze

4.
The Castillo, Chichen Itza, Mexico, ca. 800-900 CE. A temple to Kukulkan sits atop this pyramid with a total of 365 stairs on its four sides. At the winter and summer equinoxes, the sun casts a shadow in the shape of a serpent along the northern staircase.

Mexican Revolution
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The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle c. 1910–1920 that radically transformed Mexican culture and government. Although recent research has focused on local and regional aspects of the Revolution and its outbreak in 1910 resulted from the failure of the 35-year long regime of Porfirio Díaz to find a managed solution to the presidential

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Collage of the Mexican Revolution

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General Porfirio Díaz, President of Mexico

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Anti-Diaz newspaper, Regeneración, the official publication of the Mexican Liberal Party (PLM).

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A vanner (1903) at the office of opposition magazine El hijo de Ahuizote reads: "The Constitution has died" (La Constitución ha muerto).

Ten Tragic Days
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The Ten Tragic Days was a series of events that took place in Mexico City between February 9 and February 19,1913, during the Mexican Revolution. This led up to a coup détat and the assassination of President Francisco I, Madero, and his Vice President, José María Pino Suárez. S. And as such, these events have been among the most influential of the

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A rebel killed in action during the unrest.

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Mexican citizens surrounding the citadel of Mexico City.

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Felicistas (Felix Diaz supporters) in citadel

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Rebels fighting during the battle for Mexico City.

Plan of Guadalupe
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The Plan of Guadalupe was a political manifesto which was proclaimed on March 26,1913 by Venustiano Carranza in response to the overthrow and execution of President Francisco I. Madero, which had occurred during the Ten Tragic Days of February 1913, the manifesto was released from the Hacienda De Guadalupe, which is where the Plan derives its name,

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Venustiano Carranza, author of the Plan of Guadalupe

Tampico Affair
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A misunderstanding occurred on April 9,1914, but developed into a breakdown of diplomatic relations between the two countries. As a result, the United States invaded the city of Veracruz. This contributed to the fall of President Victoriano Huerta, who resigned in July 1914, by March 26,1914, Carranzas forces were 10 mi from the prosperous coastal

United States occupation of Veracruz
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For other battles at Veracruz see Battle of Veracruz. The United States occupation of Veracruz began with the Battle of Veracruz and lasted for seven months, the incident came in the midst of poor diplomatic relations between Mexico and the United States, and was related to the ongoing Mexican Revolution. The Tampico Affair was set off when nine Am

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Sergeant Major John H. Quick of the U.S. Marines raises the American flag over Veracruz.

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Map of Veracruz for April 1914, showing the naval artillery attacks by USS Prairie on April 21 and by USS San Francisco and USS Chester on the April 22

Cristero War
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The rebellion was set off by enactment under President Plutarco Elías Calles of a statute to enforce the anticlerical articles of the Mexican Constitution of 1917. Calles sought to eliminate the power of the Catholic Church and organizations affiliated with it as an institution, the massive, popular rural uprising was tacitly supported by the Churc

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Mexican government forces publicly hanged Cristeros on main thoroughfares throughout Mexico, including in the Pacific states of Colima and Jalisco, where bodies would often remain hanging for extended lengths of time.

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Peaceful protesters standing against President Plutarco Calles' law forbidding public religious practices.

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A vintage photo of officers and family members from the Cristeros Castañon fighting regiment.

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Armed Cristeros congregating in the streets of Mexico

Mexico 68
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The Mexican Student Movement of 1968 was a student movement caused by an ideological clash between generations. Socialism and Capitalism also influenced the students and the government at that time, October 2 and the Silence March are the most important parts of the movement. Students from the IPN, UNAM and other schools forgot their differences, t

1.
Armored cars at the "Zócalo" in Mexico City in 1968

Economic history of Mexico
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Mexicos economic history has been characterized since the colonial era by resource extraction, agriculture, and a relatively underdeveloped industrial sector. Economic elites in the period were predominantly Spanish born, active as transatlantic merchants and silver mine owners. The largest sector of the population was indigenous subsistence farmer

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A photo of the Metlac Bridge, built during nineteenth-century railway construction that enabled modernization. Photo by Guillermo Kahlo.

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Silver peso mined and minted in colonial Mexico, which became a global currency

Chiapas conflict
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The Zapatista uprising started in January 1994, lasting for less than two weeks, before being crushed by the government. This resulted in a division between communities with ties to the government and communities that sympathized with the Zapatistas. Social tensions, armed conflict and para-military incidents increased, culminating in the killing o

1.
A Zapatista sign

Mexican Drug War
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The Mexican Drug War is the Mexican theater of the United States War on Drugs, involving an ongoing low-intensity asymmetric war between the Mexican Government and various drug trafficking syndicates. Since 2006, when the Mexican military began to intervene, the principal goal has been to reduce the drug-related violence. Additionally, the Mexican

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Mexican soldiers during a confrontation in Michoacán in August 2007

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Mexican soldiers tracking criminals' marks in August 2010

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Mexican Army raids a Gulf Cartel's house at Matamoros, Tamaulipas in 2012

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Francisco Javier Arellano Félix was captured by DEA

Reform laws
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The War of the Reform is one of many episodes of the long struggle between Liberal and Conservative forces that dominated the country’s history in the 19th century. The Liberals wanted to eliminate the political, economic, and cultural power of the Catholic church as well as undermine the role of the Mexican Army, both the Catholic Church and the A

1.
Conservatives

Constitution of 1857
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It was ratified on February 5,1857, establishing individual rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and the right to bear arms. It also reaffirmed the abolition of slavery, eliminated debtor prison, some articles were contrary to the interests of the Catholic Church, such as education free

1.
Original front of the 1857 Constitution

Separation of church and state
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The separation of church and state is a concept defining the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state. It may refer to creating a state, with or without explicit reference to such separation. The concept parallels various other social and political ideas, including secularism, disestablishmentarianism, religious

1.
John Locke, English political philosopher argued for individual conscience, free from state control

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Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, whose letter to the Danbury Baptists Association is often quoted in debates regarding the separation of church and state.

Napoleon III
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Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the only President of the French Second Republic and, as Napoleon III, the Emperor of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I and he was the first President of France to be elected by a direct popular vote. He remains the longest-serving French head of state since the French Revolution, during

1.
Napoleon III

2.
Louis Bonaparte (1778–1846), the younger brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, the King of Holland, and father of Napoleon III.

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Hortense de Beauharnais (1783–1837), the mother of Napoleon III, in 1808, the year Napoleon III was born.

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The lakeside house at Arenenberg, Switzerland, where Napoleon III spent much of his youth and exile.

French Intervention in Mexico
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It followed President Benito Juárezs suspension of interest payments to foreign countries on 17 July 1861, which angered these three major creditors of Mexico. Emperor Napoleon III of France was the instigator, justifying military intervention by claiming a broad foreign policy of commitment to free trade, for him, a friendly government in Mexico w

1.
Clockwise from left: French assault during the Second Battle of Puebla; French cavalry seize the Republican flag during the Battle of San Pablo del Monte; depiction of the execution of Emperor Maximilian I by Édouard Manet.

2.
The Battle of Puebla, 1862

3.
Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico

4.
Battle of Miahuatlán, 3 October 1866

Ignacio Comonfort
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Ignacio Gregorio Comonfort de los Ríos, known as Ignacio Comonfort, was a Mexican politician and soldier. He became President of Mexico in 1855 after a the outbreak of the Revolution of Ayutla overthrew Santa Anna and he was born in 1812 to French parents in Puebla de los Ángeles, in the state of Puebla, New Spain. He participated in the Mexican-Am

1.
Ignacio Comonfort

Melchor Ocampo
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Melchor Ocampo was a mestizo by birth, a radical liberal Mexican lawyer, scientist, and politician. He was fiercely anticlerical, perhaps an atheist, and his writings against Roman Catholic Church in Mexico gained him a reputation as an articulate liberal ideologue. Ocampo has been considered the heir to José María Luis Mora and he served in the ad

1.
Melchor Ocampo

Mexican Constitution of 1857
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It was ratified on February 5,1857, establishing individual rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and the right to bear arms. It also reaffirmed the abolition of slavery, eliminated debtor prison, some articles were contrary to the interests of the Catholic Church, such as education free

1.
Original front of the 1857 Constitution

Freedom of religion
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It also includes the freedom to change ones religion or belief. Freedom of religion is considered by people and most of the nations to be a fundamental human right. Historically, freedom of religion has been used to refer to the tolerance of different theological systems of belief, each of these have existed to varying degrees. Compare examples of

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Minerva as a symbol of enlightened wisdom protects the believers of all religions (Daniel Chodowiecki, 1791)

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The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789) guarantees freedom of religion, as long as religious activities do not infringe on public order in ways detrimental to society.

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A US Postage Stamp commemorating religious freedom and the Flushing Remonstrance.

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The cross of the war memorial and a menorah coexist in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.

Veracruz
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It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is Xalapa-Enríquez. This state is located in Eastern Mexico and it is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north, San Luis Potosí and Hidalgo to the west, Puebla to the southwest, Oaxaca and Chiapas to the south, and Tabasco to the southeast. On its east, Veracruz has a significant sha

1.
Pico de Orizaba

2.
Flag

3.
Jamapa River

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Mountain formation in the south of the state

Mexico City
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Mexico City, or City of Mexico, is the capital and most populous city of Mexico. As an alpha global city, Mexico City is one of the most important financial centers in the Americas and it is located in the Valley of Mexico, a large valley in the high plateaus at the center of Mexico, at an altitude of 2,240 metres. The city consists of sixteen muni